A pair of Ravens skiers recently returned from the 2017 Winter Universiade in Almaty, Kazakstan where they competed in a variety of events.
Alpine skier Hannah Schmidt and nordic skier Carrington Pomeroy both represented Carleton at the international event.
Although the duo didn’t return with medal’s around their necks, Schmidt said she considered the trip to be successful.
“[M]aybe not result wise, but I skied well and grew from the experience of competing at the world class level,” she said in an email.
Schmidt’s top result was a 13th place finish in the Combined Slalom with a time of 1:00.39, only 3.61 seconds behind the top finisher.
She was unable to finish the Combined Super-G and a Ladies’ Giant Slalom Run due to losing a ski in one run and missing a gate and having to climb back up, according to Schmidt.
Schmidt said the city of Almaty surprised her during her time at the Universiade.
“It was a pretty big culture shock to see their lifestyle and how they live there,” she said. “The University in Kazakhstan actually closed for the duration of the games and the students were the volunteers, which I found pretty cool.”
She also described the opening ceremonies as a moment of pride that stood out to her.
“It was pretty unforgettable. The crowds at every event were pretty awesome,” she said.
In the other events that Schindt competed in, she finished 16th and 23rd in a pair of Ladies’ Slalom Runs.
In the Ladies’ Super-G, Schmidt finished 18th with a time of 1:09.51.
Schmidt also finished 34th in the Ladies’ Giant Slalom.
In team events, Schmidt competed with other Canadian skiers in the Parallel Nations Team Event. She won her head-to-head run against Polish skier Magdalena Klusak to help lead Canada to a 3-1 win over Poland in the 1/8 Final 6.
In the 1/4 Final 3, Schmidt narrowly trailed Czech skier Martina Dubovska by a time of 0.54, and Canada ultimately fell 3-1 to the Czech Republic.
In Pomeroy’s first event at the Universiade, he finished 57th in the Men’s 10 km individual classic with a time of 28:36.9
He also finished 48th with a time of 32:13.7 in the Men’s 10 km Pursuit free event.
In his final individual event, Pomeroy finished 42nd in the Men’s 30 km mass start classic with a time of 1:33:24.6.
In team competition, Pomeroy joined forces with Laval Rouge et Or skiers Conor Thompson and William Dumas, along with Nipissing Lakers skier Jordan Cascagnette. The quartet finished 11th in the cross-country skiing men’s 4×7.5km relay.
– Photo provided by almaty2017.com
