Calgarian ski jumper earns bronze in Austria for 1st World Cup medal of season

February 23, 2025 Canuck

Canada’s Abigail Strate collected bronze on Sunday for her first World Cup ski jumping medal of the season.

Strate, from Calgary, scored 226.6 points over two jumps on the normal-size hill in Hinzenbach, Austria.

She covered 86.5 metres on her first jump and 87.5 on her second.

“It feels really good. I wasn’t trying to expect anything but being in third afer the first round, I haven’t been in that position this year, so it was a bit stressful,” Strate told Ski Jumping Canada one day after turning 24. “Today, I decided I was going to go for it. It either works or it doesn’t. In a top sport like this the margin is so small you can’t be half in.

“I have been playing it safe this year, but I reached the point where I said ‘we are doing it. I know I can do it.’ I proved that to myself in training and qualis this weekend.”

Slovenia’s Nika Prevc won gold with 244.0 points and Germany’s Selina Freitag took silver (241.5).

WATCH | Strate soars to bronze medal in Hinzenbach, Austria:

Calgary’s Abigail Strate flies to her 1st World Cup ski jumping medal of the season

3 hours ago

Duration 0:53

One day after her 24th birthday, Abigail Strate gave herself a belated birthday present by winning a bronze medal in Hinzenbach, Austria.

It was Strate’s sixth career World Cup medal.

Sitting third midway through the competition, the nerves ramped up.

“Not going to lie. I put stress relieving oils on my gloves and took a sniff to calm things down at the top of the hill. I must have looked silly, but it worked,” laughed Strate.

Look at bee sticker ‘kept me grounded’

The certified Canadian bee keeper also took a quick glimpse at a lucky bee sticker she has placed on her right ski to remind her to relax and smile.

“Every time I put my skis on, I look at that little bee on my ski and it makes me smile. I definitely did that today,” Srate said. “I could feel my heart beating so fast and that quick look just made me smile, kept me grounded in the moment and reminded me what is real and what is important.”

Strate had been tracking in the right direction with three recent top-15 finishes.

“I’ve never had this trend where I started out slow and got better all year. This is exactly where I want to be picking up, just before world championships,” said Strate. “It is going to give me a big boost.

“Everyone in sport dreams of medals and I have allowed myself to dream once again, but I am really focused on just having good jumps.”

Calgary’s Nicole Maurer was 16th and has registered a personal best in each of her last three events.

Team Canada will now head to Trondheim, Norway for worlds that begin Feb. 27.

“I’m excited for the whole experience. World championships are a different environment. They mimic the Olympics in a way, so I am excited for that environment,” said Strate.

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