Grade 12 Salmon Arm Secondary student Maia Journeau captured a hotly contested bronze medal at the B.C. Secondary School Alpine Ski & Snowboard Championships in Revelstoke two weeks ago.
Journeau missed out on the gold medal by only half a second in the giant slalom event.
“It was a relief to know that I still won the bronze since I was second after the first run,” said Maia Journeau.
“I just had to remain focused and relaxed going into the second run.”
SAS Alpine Ski & Snowboard coach Chris Stromgren said he and the team are incredibly proud of Journeau’s result.
Since starting the ski and snowboard program at SAS eight years ago, Stromgren says her bronze is the best individual accomplishment achieved by a SAS skier.
“The giant slalom is my favourite event because you really have to learn how to maintain speed, control your turns and let the skis rip through,” said Journeau.
In the terrain giant slalom, a ski cross type course with only one skier on it at a time, Journeau placed fifth, in an even tighter race than the giant slalom.
“The terrain event was even closer (than the giant slalom), the top six skiers all finished within 0.7 seconds of each other,” said Stromgren.
Since starting skiing at the age of six, Journeau said this season will be the end of the road for her in competitive ski racing.
She says she owes her past and present coaches a lot for all of her accomplishments.
“Tim Harder taught me a lot about the mental side of sports, he was a big influence on me, and Chris (Stromgren) is awesome. He has coached me since I was in Grade 10 and I’ve also had him as a teacher in science,” said Journeau.
The ski and snowboard team do dryland training two times a week, followed by training sessions at either Silver Star or Revelstoke once a week.
More than 30 secondary schools and 280 athletes from around the province descended on Revelstoke for the three-day competition, making it the largest event ever hosted at Revelstoke.
“We had schools from Vancouver Island to Fernie and as far away as Smithers, it was an exciting event with many great athletes,” said Stromgren.
The event was hosted by both SAS and Nakusp Secondary.
Along with Journeau, 11 other skiers and snowboarders from SAS competed in the championships.
Stromgren says he will lose many of his Grade 12 skiers next season and will look to Noah Cannon-Milne to pick up where Journeau left off.
“Noah is quite the athlete in Grade 10. He is very motivated and coachable, I could see him achieving some great results in the future,” said Stromgren.
