Canadian ski jumper Abi Strate clinched a spot on the podium during her World Cup season debut on Saturday in Lillehammer, Norway. The athlete from Calgary secured a silver medal in the large hill event, achieving distances of 129 and 121 meters and accumulating 259.7 points across two rounds. Nozomi Maruyama from Japan claimed the gold with 285.5 points, while Lisa Eder from Austria settled for bronze with 255.4 points. Another Canadian competitor, Nicole Mauer, finished in 22nd place with 205.3 points.
Expressing her satisfaction, Strate stated, “Not a bad start. It feels really good. I can’t believe this is my reality right now. I’ve faced challenges in this sport for a long time. Watching top athletes with admiration, now being among them regularly is surreal. It feels comfortable but unbelievable.”
This marked Strate’s sixth podium finish in her World Cup career and equaled her previous best performance from nearly two years ago in Obertsdorf, Germany. Reflecting on her jumps, Strate mentioned, “My qualifying jump was the strongest. I felt relaxed and composed. In today’s competition, there was some tension. Though I could have pushed myself further, I focus on training mindset. The goal is to improve each jump.”
Despite feeling some pressure during the competition, Strate emphasized the joy of completing a successful day, seeing her coaches’ approval, and sharing the celebration with everyone. She described it as fulfilling, given her experience of ending a day in disappointment.
For Strate, this achievement in Lillehammer sets a promising tone for the upcoming Olympic year. Having been part of Canada’s historic bronze medal-winning team in the mixed event at the Beijing Olympics in 2022, Strate’s next Olympic challenge will be the large hill competition debut at Milano-Cortina in February. Additionally, she triumphed in an Olympic test event in Predazzo, Italy, last September.