Alpine Canada Names 15 Athletes To FIS Alpine World Championship Team

Alpine Canada is sending a mix of experienced veterans and up-and-coming racers to the first FIS Alpine World Championship of this Olympic quadrennial, selecting eight men and seven women to represent the country in Are, Sweden, Feb. 4-17, 2019.

Team Canada includes Marie-Michèle Gagnon, who will compete in her sixth World Championship, as well as Erin Mielzynski, who will be racing in her fifth Worlds. On the men’s side, both Ben Thomsen and Trevor Philp will be participating in their fourth Worlds.

Seven of the 15 Canadians who will compete in their first World Championship include Brodie Seger, who recorded a career-best 16th-place finish in World Cup action at the Kitzbuehel downhill last weekend; Roni Remme, whose career-best World Cup result was an eighth-place finish secured this season in slalom racing; and Laurence St-Germain, who has five top-15 finishes this season.

“The World Championships, especially in the first year of the Olympic quad, provide us with an opportunity to work as a team towards preparing for peak performance at a set date on the season’s calendar, as well as expose our up-and-coming racers to large-scale, international racing with a view towards fielding the best possible team in 2022,” said Martin Rufener, Alpine Athletic Director for Alpine Canada. “We’re looking forward to a great series of races in Are.”

The full list of competing athletes for Canada includes:

• Amelia Smart (Invermere, B.C./Panorama Ski Club)
• Ben Thomsen (Invermere, B.C./Windermere Ski Club)
• Brodie Seger (North Vancouver, B.C./Whistler Mountain Ski Club)
• Dustin Cook (Ottawa/Club de ski Mont Ste-Marie)
• Erik Read (Calgary/Banff Alpine Racers)
• Erin Mielzynski (Collingwood, Ont./Georgian Peaks Ski Club)
• Jack Crawford (Toronto/Georgian Peaks Ski Club & Whistler Mountain Ski Club)
• Jeffrey Read (Calgary/Banff Alpine Racers)
• Laurence St-Germain (St. Ferréol-les-Neiges, Que./Club de ski Mont Ste-Anne)
• Marie-Michèle Gagnon (Lac-Etchemin, Que./Club de ski Mont Orignal)
• Mikaela Tommy (Wakefield, Que./Edelweiss)
• Roni Remme (Collingwood, Ont./Alpine Ski Club)
• Simon Fournier (Montreal/Club de ski Mont-Tremblant)
• Trevor Philp (Calgary/Banff Alpine Racers)
• Valérie Grenier (Mont-Tremblant, Que./Club de ski Mont-Tremblant)

The Canadian Alpine Ski Team heads into the World Championships with three racers ranked amongst the top-15 in the women’s slalom standings (Mielzynski, St-Germain, Remme), Thomsen ranked 11th in the men’s downhill standings, and Grenier sitting in 13th in women’s super-G standings.