Squamish's Mikayla Martin continued her strong debut year in the K2 (13- and 14-year-old) category, picking up a bronze on Saturday (Jan. 22) and a silver on Sunday (Jan. 23) in the giant slalom races at Mount Washington.
Martin blazed through the course in one minute, 43.66 seconds on Saturday and 1:47.31 on Sunday, medalling both days against 30 other competitors.
"The morning course was challenging but the afternoon was a thrill," she said of her two days of racing.
It was a special day for many of the racers as they got up close and personal with the "Ghana Snow Leopard" Kwame Nkrumah-Acheampong. As the only person from Ghana to ever compete in the Olympics, Kwame made international headlines after finishing in 53rd place in the slalom event during the 2010 Olympics. He showed up to forerun the events over the weekend and offered tips and advice to several of the young racers.
The Mount Washington course was one of the longest and most challenging courses that races had faced all year, but Whistler Mountain Ski Club (WMSC) head coach Rob Boyd was pleased with the efforts of his team.
"The athletes put to the test what they had been practicing and really saw results," he said, commending several racers for pushing outside their comfort zone.
The conditions for the weekend were hard and fast, but Saturday saw a number of racers not able to finish the challenging course. On Saturday, silver medallist Rachel Vander Veen emphasized that, "you had to really stay over your edges." The proof was in the pudding as only 30 of the 42 boys managed to reach the finish line on Saturday.
Whistler's Kelly Steeves, who won the gold on both days, was given the green light to compete after suffering an injury while competing just days earlier and said it was a relief to be able to take part.
"I'm really glad I came because I debated about whether to be here," she said. "I think I made the right decision."
Both the boys and girls from the WMSC dominated the podium on both days. All but two of the top 10 women's spots were from the WMSC on Saturday as well as seven of the top 10 on Sunday. The Whistler boys followed suit, picking up all three podium spots on each day. Marc Leroux won gold on both days, Riley Seger took home a bronze on Saturday and a silver on Sunday, Dalton Pehota won a silver on Saturday and rookie Carson Llewellyn captured a bronze on Sunday.
For complete results from the event, visit www.bcalpine.com/news.
