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Young ski racers in the Okanagan zone got a rare treat on Saturday: Aksel Lund Svindal, the overall World Cup Champion for this season and for 2007, foreran their Giant Slalom race down Hollywood at RMR. The 6’2” Norwegian skied the course in all his freeski clothing instead of a race suit, and on fat powder skis rather than race boards, and easily stayed well ahead of the field, impressing competitors and spectators alike. Svindal was in Revelstoke for a heli-skiing trip and took time to check out RMR and to visit with the local racers.

Following the excitement of having a world-famous forerunner, the young racers got into some serious competition. The young women of the Revelstoke Ski Club did extremely well in their final race of the season. Emily Unterberger scored a silver medal in the K1 field, while Sonia Schwenck finished sixth, Hannah Yauck 16th and Gina Cinelli 20th. The K2 women both placed in the top ten: Delyth Harper eighth and Stephanie Landry ninth.

The Revelstoke Ski Club did very well among the men’s field as well: Peter Behncke won gold for the K2s and Eric Schwenck took the bronze. Also in the top ten were Shep Howatt placing fifth, Alexandre Duchesne finishing seventh and Cole Smith tenth. Kirill Dubroviskiy was 15th and Brady Roy, Robert Bernava, Davis Roy and Jacob Wallach finished 17th through 20th.

In the K1 category Revelstoke had four finishers in the top ten: Lachlan Hicks won gold, Max Scharf finished fifth, Mitch Smith seventh and Rydr Strobl ninth. The K1 group’s performances, by both male and female racers, earned them the Okanagan zone K1 team title.

Sunday’s Slalom race brought more excellent results for the club: Emily Unterberger and Peter Behncke both won their races, Shep Howatt placed fourth while Sonia Schwenck, Max Scharf and Cole Smith all placed fifth. Mitch Smith finished sixth, Eric Schwenck eighth, Kirill Dubroviskiy tenth and Gina Cinelli 13th.

Several of the Ski Club’s younger racers also competed this weekend to get a taste of the next level of racing. Sara Jo Howatt, Xian Chang, Anne-Marie Duchesne, Thea Peasgood, Callum Hicks and Donovan all competed in the zone finals.

Leading up to the zone finals several of the Revelstoke racers competed in some very exciting events. Dominic Unterberger and Peter Behncke both raced in the K2 Nationals at Silver Star. Behncke had a 23rd place finish in the Super Combined event, and Unterberger had an impressive eighth place in the Super G. Unfortunately, Dominic broke his leg the following day and will be out for the remainder of the season.

At the K2 Westerns at Marmot Basin our local skiers had several strong finishes: Stephanie Landry placed ninth in the Super G and Eric Schwenck was sixth, seventh and eighth in the two Super Gs and the Super Combined. Shep Howatt placed sixth in both the Giant Slalom and Slalom, and Cole Smith finished 19th in the Slalom.

As a great season winds down for the Revelstoke ski racers, some athletes have qualified and are training for an international race: the Whistler Cup, which takes place next weekend. Lachlan Hicks (Team Canada), Emily Unterberger and Mitch Smith will be competing in the K1 field, and Peter Behncke will race in the K2 category. The FIS athletes are currently competing in their spring series in Panorama and will head to Nakiska next weekend to finish off their winter. Good luck to all racers and congratulations on a fantastic season! Look for results from the Whistler Cup and the FIS spring series in next week’s Times Review.