January 25, 2009 (Whistler, BC) – The second and final Large Hill (HS140) World Cup competition took place today at Whistler Olympic Park, starting with the Qualification Round. All four Canadian ski jumpers were in action hoping to secure a top-40 spot and the opportunity to advance to the Large Hill Individual competition. Representing Canada today in the qualification round: Mackenzie Boyd-Clowes (age 17, Calgary, AB), Eric Mitchell (age 16, Calgary, AB), Trevor Morrice (age 17, Calgary, AB) and veteran of the team, Stefan Read (age 21, Calgary, AB).

Canada improved on its results from earlier in the weekend by qualifying two athletes to the Large Hill competition. Read had the longest Canadian jump in the Qualifier with a distance of 110 metres putting him in 36th position. Boyd-Clowes qualified for his second World Cup Large Hill Individual competition this weekend in 40th position with a jump of 107 metres. Morrice fell just short of qualifying in 41st position with his jump of 102.5 metres, while Mitchell, the youngest competitor of the competition, finished 44th overall. Anders Johnson of the US qualified in 39th with a jump of 107.5 metres.

In the first round of the Large Hill competition, Read had a jump of 111.5 metres putting him in 41st position and out of the top 30 needed to advance to the next round. “I’m still not jumping my best, but I’m definitely getting better with each one,” stated Read. “I’ll be staying here this week to practice and that will help a lot. I love the hill and competing at home is a great feeling.”

Mackenzie Boyd-Clowes who previously qualified and competed in Saturday’s World Cup competition where he finished 42nd, did not have a great jump today in the first Individual round, jumping 98.5 metres, his shortest of the competition and putting him in 49th position. “I had a bad jump in the first round today,” noted Boyd-Clowes, “but I have to forget about it and focus on training so I can be better and more consistent.”

Johnson of the US was the only North American to advance to the second round jump in the finals with a first round jump of 119.5 metres. He finished the day in 29th position.

Austria repeated as winners of both gold and silver with Gregor Schlierenzauer finishing first and setting yet another hill record – a remarkable 149 metres, while teammate Thomas Morgenstern earned silver. Ville Larinto from Finland earned bronze with a jump of 149 metres, tying the hill record. He had trouble landing the jump noting that, “I thought that I was flying to the parking lot and had to land suddenly.”

Canadians Read and Boyd-Clowes will train in Whistler for a few days before heading to Europe for a month to compete in World and Continental Cups, completing their European tour with the World Championships, February 20 – 28, 2009 in Liberec, Czech Republic.

Qualifying results here
Final results available here