NEW! - Photos by Robert Kwong available HERE
WHISTLER, BC (March 4, 2009) – Sixteen-year-old Brandon Sutton (Toronto, ON) from the Toronto Ski Club proved to have a flare for the dramatic today, crashing into the finish area on his way to a victory in the men’s giant slalom a the Pontiac GMC Canadian J1 Championships in Whistler, BC.
Sutton got up from the ground slowly, turned to the scoreboard and raised his hands in the air after realizing he had won the race. His time of two minutes 09.12 seconds was just enough for his first victory of the 2009 Pontiac GMC Canadian J1 Championships.
“That was the craziest finish I’ve ever done. I was just tucking through the finish, looked down and saw my ski pop off. I thought ‘uh oh, this isn’t going to end well,” said Sutton. “I crashed and I guess lost the other ski. It hurt a little but I won so I’m feeling no pain now.”
“Honestly, I’ve never been so nervous in my life before a race. I was just pacing in the start,” said Sutton, the leader after the opening run. “I won the first run, so I had to wait a long time to start my second run. In that position, if you do one thing wrong, it’s over. But I didn’t want to hold anything back because I knew I’d regret it.”
“What a great way to end this race series. I finally pulled through with a win after not a great start to the week,” said Sutton, whose best result had been a fourth place finish in the super-G. “Of all the races, this is the one I really wanted to win. GS is my favourite discipline and this one means the most to me. My mom told me on the phone last night that she had a feeling I was going to do well today. Now she can have fun saying ‘I told you so’.”
Top BC finisher in Wednesday's GS was Whistler Mountain Ski Club athlete Spencer Morris (West Vancouver), taking 13th spot with a combined time of 2:13.36. "The course is smooth and in good shape," Morris said. " I was really trying to link the turns more this afternoon. In the first run I was way too harsh on my edges. I had nothing to lose this afternoon."
Mike Turnbull, who finished second in today’s GS, is the 2009 Pontiac GMC Canadian J1 Championships men’s overall champion. He finished with 360 points well ahead of yesterday’s super-G winner Dylan Ross (Canmore, AB) of the Banff Alpine Racers who ended up with 210 points. Sutton finished third in the overall standings with 186 points.
USA’s Vanessa Berther of Snoqualmie Pass in Washington State was crowned the ladies overall champion after the conclusion of ladies races yesterday. Brenley Nella (Toronto, ON), the winner of the super combined and giant slalom, finished second with Samantha Bisnaire (Toronto, ON) third.
The top five J1 athletes, which is any ski racer aged 15 and 16 years old on December 31st of the season, in each discipline qualify for Pontiac GMC Canadian Championships.
The 2009 Pontiac GMC Canadian Championships get underway with downhill training on March 17. Racing is scheduled for March 19 to 24 in Le Massif and Mont-Sainte-.Anne, QC.
Men's Giant Slalom Top-15
1 1 SUTTON Brandon 1992 CAN 1:03.88 1:05.24 2:09.12
2 11 TURNBULL Mike 1992 CAN 1:04.73 1:04.77 2:09.50
3 13 PHILP Trevor 1992 CAN 1:04.92 1:04.88 2:09.80
4 9 ROSS Dylan 1992 CAN 1:05.40 1:05.13 2:10.53
5 10 SMITH Trace 1992 USA 1:05.28 1:05.91 2:11.19
6 15 TIMMONS Connel 1992 CAN 1:05.84 1:06.02 2:11.86
6 7 GERVAIS Alex 1992 CAN 1:05.69 1:06.17 2:11.86
8 19 SCHUESSLER BEDARD William 1993 CAN 1:05.19 1:06.77 2:11.96
9 18 WELTON James 1992 CAN 1:05.81 1:06.52 2:12.33
10 37 OVERING Robert 1993 CAN 1:05.75 1:06.90 2:12.65
11 39 LAW Michael 1993 CAN 1:06.30 1:06.74 2:13.04
12 16 TREMBLAY Jerome 1993 CAN 1:06.61 1:06.66 2:13.27
13 14 MORRIS Spencer 1993 (Whistler Mountain Ski Club) 1:07.66 1:05.70 2:13.36
14 64 HAYTO Justin 1993 (Whistler Mountain Ski Club) 1:06.86 1:06.52 2:13.38
15 12 SOLOMON Andrew 1992 CAN 1:06.47 1:07.14 2:13.61