Canmore's McLeish nabs first gold at Alpine Ski Nationals

No gold medals for the Bow Valley at Nationals?

Not in Madison McLeish’s back yard.

The 18-year-old Bow Valley resident put her stamp on the 2011 Nationals by capturing her first Canadian national title in the women’s super G, Monday (March 28) with a blazing run at Nakiska.

McLeish tied perennial team leader Britt Janyk with a time of 1:04.47 with a run that certainly turned some heads.

Disappointed with her performance in the super combined the day before, McLeish bounced back, taking an aggressive line in Monday’s super G.

“I really like the super G here. (Yesterday) I skied well, but took a conservative line,” McLeish said. “I wasn’t expecting this when I came through the finish line. I’m stoked.”

The prospect team member had no problem sharing the podium with Janyk.

“It’s very cool. Britt is a world cup winner – she’s a fantastic skier.”

Battling against heavy snowfall, the course worked against world cup skiers such as Janyk, who are accustomed to the ice-injected courses in Europe.

Women’s national team coach Hugues Anermoz said he was impressed with McLeish’s performance.

“Madi showed that she has the potential to go really fast,” Anermoz said.

Marie-Michele Gagnon finished third, a day after winning the super combined. It was her third super combined title in a row.

“It was my third in a row and I couldn’t give it away. I hope to get a few more as well,” Gagnon said.

Her super G line was a touch too round on Sunday, but she managed to correct in time for Monday’s race.

This year, she did a few more speed races, and has impressed her coaches. But she says there’s much work to do.

“It’s been a good year. I want to be more consistent next year,” Gagnon said.

Every time she finished a race on the world cup, Gagnon was in the top 15. However, she had quite a few DNFs and wants to reduce that number for next season.

McLeish posted several promising results skiing for the Alberta ski team. She won her first Nor-Am this past December, mere months after recovering from a concussion suffered in training in Austria. Earlier this month, she topped the field in slalom at the GMC Cup in Rossland, B.C.

“There have been a few good days. I started thinking halfway through the season, and now I’m thinking a little too much. I just have to not think so much,” McLeish said.

McLeish was fifth in super combined on Sunday, (March 27), but was not happy with a poor performance on the slalom course.

“I knew I could have been on the podium,” McLeish said.

Tess Davies just missed the top 10, finishing 11th with a time of 1:06.94.

In the men’s super combined, American Chris Frank took home the title (1:40.17), followed by Brad Spence (1:40.35) and Banff’s Paul Stutz (1:40.71). Banff’s Jan Hudec finished seventh.