What. A. Week.
Last weekend, I ran into Trace Smith, fellow Burke racer, current member of the Dartmouth Ski Team, card-carrying member of the USSA (for those keeping track), and dual citizen of the USA and Estonia. Trace was leaving the next morning for Alpine World Championships in Schladming, Austria, and mentioned that as the sole representative of his Baltic nation, his national ski federation wasn't sending any support staff his way for the event. He already had Eddie Hauck, Dartmouth assistant coach and ex-pro skier from Back in the Day, who knew the area and many of the people organizing the event, but all the moving parts of such a large event can stretch even the most seasoned coach pretty thin. Trace told me that he could use all the help he could get over there, kicking off a 24-hour am-I-really-going-to-do-this process that involved getting the go-ahead both at work and by the Estonia and WC organizers in time. There was also the issue of lining up a flight to Europe and transport to Schladming on 24-hours notice, but I had more experience in this area than anywhere else. By Tuesday night, I had a flight booked to MUC leaving the next day, and I had a credential waiting for me as a coach for Estonia at World Champs.
As an athlete ranked outside of the top 50 in the world, Trace had to compete in qualifying races the day before the WC GS and SL. He also had to finish in the top 25 if he wasn't ranked in the top 25 in that race. This meant that he would be racing full-on for 4 days in a row, making for an even more hectic schedule.
I originally assumed that the qualification races would be easy course sets on a moderate hill, in order to accommodate all of the 133 countries participating in the event. Not in Austria. The race venue for the qualifying races, held at the neighboring hill the Reiteralm, was fully injected, included a 46 degree pitch, and was in the shade. The course was icier and steeper than the WC race hill; it was an eliminator. My "Marcel Hirscher package" of rental skis and boots, courtesy of United Airlines failing to send my bags all the way to MUC, had little chance of stopping on the pitches during inspection. Unfortunately for some of the competition, they couldn't hold an edge either and slid down the pitches with me.
Trace punched his ticket to both the WC GS and SLs, making for a fast-paced trip. The Men's GS race was an incredible day, living up to its billing as "Ted vs. Hirscher". The course had a ton of terrain and ended with a steep last pitch into the finish, providing an intense final 25 seconds of skiing. Trace went out first run so we all caught the second run from the bottom of the hill, and witnessed the intensity of the crowd when Hirscher came through with a time that people thought might challenge Ted's eventual victory. This much is true: ski racing is alive and well in Austria.
Trace's skiing and results kept building on themselves, culminating with an impressive performance on the final day at the WC SL. Having qualified the day before by finishing 20th from bib 38 (and snapping a DNF streak that stretched back to 2012), Trace responded to the truly incredible atmosphere on Sunday and placed 36th from bib 74. Any time you can cut your bib in half it's a good day, but to do it at World Championships it's almost unbelievable. Trace heads from this event straight to World Junior Championships, and will hopefully build off the momentum he created and extend his new SL hot streak.
With all 4 Austrians in the top 8 after the first run, the crowd was pretty jacked up...during inspection
Even while everyone on the course was at a stand still, it was nice to see that Hirscher was still able to properly execute the Austrian inspection with classic form
And speaking of classic, I was able to get a shot of Pranger going over the course at the bottom of inspection. Just too good to pass up!
A big thanks to Tiina Smith and everyone involved with making this experience what it was; a great time at World Champs that produced impressive results. Eddie was a blast to work with and I was honored to join him on the Estonian coaching crew. He let me play to my strengths as a coach and provided me with laser-focused course reports that I'd then relay to Trace at the start. There are so many small stories to explain in one blog post, but I'm sure the pictures will do a better job anyway. Crush WJRs in Quebec, Trace!
Eddie, myself, Mr. Estonia, and his dirty 'stash
Trace, getting some media love by none other than Christine Feehan from Alpine Press
What was supposed to be a dinner with the Shiffrins and Leevers turned into a media blitz after Mikaela was victorious in the SL. First stop, ORF!
A rare moment of calm during the post-victory tour at the Audi tent with the Shiffrin and Leever family. Taylor and I ended up being bodyguards throughout the night to fend off over enthusiastic, picture-wanting fans.
The big names of the week on the men's side were Svindal, Ligety, and Hirscher... and Jamaica Mike. Outfitted with an unmistakable uniform, a small army of handlers (the over-under on the total was 10), and a team slogan that read "Mike vs You", Jamaica Mike was a legit star at World Champs.
Estonia clearly needed a physio, and who was able to answer the call but medically certified Julian Schreib! Luckily we had no injuries so Jules was not in high demand, and he may even have been able to catch some of the race!
It's not every day the you get time with the most popular coach in ski racing. It was great to see a lot of friends in the coaching world, all in all an unforgettable experience.
