TRONDHEIM, Nor.— Alex Loutitt is back! And in record fashion. Not that she ever left.

Rattling off her third straight top-five finish on the World Cup ski jumping circuit by finishing fourth on Tuesday in Trondheim, Norway is a sure sign the soft-spoken 20-year-old has emerged as a podium threat each time she heads to the top of the hill to take on the top leapers on the planet.

Loutitt finished just under two points shy of the podium on the normal hill with a total of 253.9 points.

“It was a tough competition on this neat little hill, so I’m happy to have held my own today,” said the Olympic medallist from Calgary. “I definitely figured some things out today and got back to flying.”

She sure did.

Sitting in sixth spot after the first round, the adrenaline-seeking Canuck chalked up a new hill record, flying 101.5 metres in her second attempt. Combine that with style points and she was an inch short of her seventh podium on the season.

“To get a hill record on the hill that will host our next World Championships feels pretty good,” added Loutitt, who was the only athlete in the field to crack the 100-metre mark on the day.

Eirin Maria Kvandal narrowly won the gold on her home hill in a tight competition. The Norwegian totaled 256.0 points, edging out Austria’s Eva Pinkelnig for top spot on the podium. Pinkelnig had a score of 255.4. Slovenia’s Nika Kriznar topped the Canadian for the bronze medal with 255.2 points. 

Returning to the World Cup circuit this weekend after an extended break to rehab an injury, it appears Calgary’s Abigail Strate is rounding her way back into the top form that saw her celebrate three podium finishes earlier this season. The 23-year-old qualified for the competition round with the top-40 jumpers in eighth spot before going on to finish 18th in her two competition rounds with 216.6 points.

Nicole Maurer (Calgary) was 31st in Trondheim with 197.2 points.

The Canadian trio have been soaring to new heights throughout the 2023-24 season with personal best finishes and nine podium finishes.

Loutitt has only finished outside the top-10 four times all year with two of those coming at World Cup stops last month in Germany and Finland. The bulk of her flights this year have landed her in the top-five, including the first three competitions in the three-hill Raw Air event where she has two, fourths and a fifth-place finish.

“I’m really happy. I’ve been struggling a lot in training, and I struggled in Lahti so to be consistently good, feels really good,” said Loutitt earlier this week. “It is relieving to be back to myself.”

Loutitt now sits fifth in the Raw Air standings at the midway point of the competition with 888.8 points. Eirin Maria Kvandal is first with 970.3 points.

The Raw Air event tests the world’s top leapers over two World Cup events in Oslo and Trondheim before the top-15 take on a ski flying hill in Vikersund to become the overall winner.

“I do feel like I have an advantage in this event where it is six events across 12 days. It is not an easy tournament especially because you have a competition almost every single day. They are long days and it is tough to keep motivated when things are hard, and it is hard to wait when things are good,” added Loutitt.

“I think my monkey ADHD brain helps with this. I’m able to fixate on other things and I am able to bring my focus on what matters when it is the right time.”

Loutitt, Strate and Maurer will now focus on Wednesday’s large hill competition in Trondheim.

“See you tomorrow for my specialty….the large hill,” said Loutitt on her Instagram channel.

Complete Women’s World Cup Results (Normal Hill) – Trondheim, Norway

Ski Jumping Canada is the governing federation for ski jumping in Canada. It is responsible for the governance of all ski jumping competitions in Canada and for the operation of the national team. For more information, please visit skijumpingcanada.com.

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