Worlds are exciting!

[andjules]

With all the hoopla about the poor conditions, it's easy to lose sight of how exciting the Worlds can be.

 

While it's sad to see a favourite go down early, it's also exciting to see lesser known skiers performing above expectations. Going into men's slalom finals, I've barely heard of the top seed (Brando Caruso), and never heard of the 3rd seed (Marek Mlynek). In women's slalom, it was great to see 17 year-old Canadian up-and-comer Jamiee Bull grab the bronze.

 

Congratulations to Adam Pickos - the only American competing in men's tricks - who managed a second consecutive win in a very tough field. I kinda-follow tricks, but I'd never heard of the 17 year-old who came 5th.

 

On the other hand, for all the unpredictability the site conditions are creating, and despite all the interesting stories emerging, it's quite possible that all the gold medals will be repeats of 2015, except Men's Overall. Regina seems headed for women's overall, it's unlikely anyone will beat Jacinta Caroll or Ryan Dodd in jump. It's also looking like the US will take overall. The only question marks are whether Nate will take gold in the rollers, and who will win Men's overall.

 

Lastly, with all due respect to the strong American team, it's interesting to see how internationally balanced the sport has become. While looking at event golds, we may see a lot of American again this year, but there are 4 Italians in the men's slalom finals, and there were 5 French in the men's trick finals. There were 3 Canadians and 3 French in the women's slalom finals.