Gagnon claims fourth straight slalom crown at Canadian championships
Marie-Michèle Gagnon won her fourth straight national slalom crown by almost three seconds on Tuesday.
World Cup star Gagnon, of Lac-Etchemin, Que., followed up her silver in downhill and gold in super-G with a dominant victory in the ladies’ slalom, earning her a ninth Canadian title in four different disciplines.
“It’s pretty exciting. (Retired skier) Britt Janyk has (15) national championships – I’m on my way there,” said Gagnon of Janyk’s Canadian titles, while Nancy Greene Raine has 17. “She’ll think it’s funny that I’m trying to catch up. I’m just having fun and trying to race as fast as I can and maybe eventually I will get there.
“I came in this week and I was like, ‘You know, it would be the coolest thing if I could get four golds,’ and then in the first downhill I was second, so I was like, ‘Ah, you know, that crushes the best result I could have,’ but I’m so happy already. This has been awesome.”
Gagnon was the first racer out of the gate in the first run and produced the best time of the day by almost two seconds. Erin Mielzynski, of Guelph, Ont. – who was expected to battle Gagnon for the slalom title – failed to finish her first run.
“I took advantage of starting No. 1 in the first run – I really went for it,” Gagnon said. “When I got to the bottom I was like, ‘That’s going to be hard to catch.’ You know when you just have one of those good runs.”
Gagnon followed up a superb first run with a strong second run – also the fastest of the day, despite skiing in soft snow conditions – to finish with a two-run combined time of one minute, 40.44 seconds. She will have a good chance of adding to her medal haul on Wednesday when she competes in the ladies’ giant slalom.
Picking up second place on Tuesday was Ève Routhier, of Sherbrooke, Que., who clocked a two-run combined time of 1:43.42. Routhier produced an incredible save at the end of her second run to prevent herself going out as she charged for the line.
“I kept it exciting till the end but it was good, it was fun,” Routhier said, “Mitch (Gagnon) won by quite a bit. I’m bummed a little bit to be that far back but I’m super happy to be the vice-champion at Canadian championships so its actually a great day. It’s super fun to be racing.
“This year was pretty tough so having a good result like that – it’s good to finish the season on a good note.”
Elli Terwiel, of Sun Peaks, B.C., was third (1:44.00) and Marie-Pier Préfontaine, of Saint-Sauveur, Que., was fourth (1:45.68). Quebec Ski Team racer Laurence St-Germain, of St-Ferréol-les-Neiges, Que., was fifth and the top junior racer (1:46.70), closely followed by Ontario Ski Team member Julia Roth, of Waterloo, Ont. (1:46.78). Three U-18 skiers finished seventh, eighth and ninth in the form of Stephanie Gartner, Mikaela Tommy and Valérie Grenier.
“It’s very impressive, that crop coming up,” said Canadian ladies’ technical head coach Jim Pollock. “There are five or six who really stood out from the field and that’s what we need – a good crew from the next wave.
“I thought Mitch (Gagnon) skied well, like she did all year. She was relaxed – nothing special, no mistakes – and she stepped away from the field. It’s too bad Erin went out in the first run. She would have given Mitch a run for her money.”
