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Steamboat’s Jett Seymour headed to 3rd Alpine Junior World Championships

Jett Seymour, racing here for the University of Denver, made his way down Howelsen Hill last winter during the Holiday Classic in Steamboat Springs. Next week, he will be in Italy taking this third shot at the FIS Alpine Junior Wold Championships in Val di Fassa. (File photo by Joel Reichenberger)

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS — Steamboat Springs ski racer Jett Seymour is hoping the third time’s a charm as he prepares to leave for his third appearance at the 2019 FIS Alpine Junior World Championships, which will be held Feb. 18 to 27 at Val di Fassa Ski Resort in the Dolomites mountains of Italy.

“Obviously, I’m faster than I was three years ago, so hopefully I will be able to improve on the results that I have had. I’m older and wiser,” said Seymour, who is a sophomore at the University of Denver. “Mostly, I want to go out there and perform at the highest level I can. I want to be able to execute how I want to perform, and with that, I know the results will be there if I am able to perform at the highest level I know that I am capable of.”

This will be the 20-year-old skier’s third, and last, trip to the Alpine Junior World Championships. Next year, he will be too old. Seymour splits his time between the DU and U.S. ski teams.

In March 2017, Seymour raced to a 22nd-place finish in the slalom event in Are, Sweden, and then last year in Davos, Switzerland, he placed 10th in the slalom — his best finish ever at the World Junior Championships. He is still looking for his first finish in the giant slalom event.

Seymour will leave on Wednesday and join the U.S. Team for a pre-championship training camp, but he’s clearly focused on the championships races in Val di Fassa, where he expects to ski in slalom, giant slalom and, possibly, a team event.

“I’m super excited,” Seymour said. “It’s always kind of sweet to go and compete against the best kids that are my age and younger.”

The championships will open with men’s downhill training Feb. 18 and 19. The men’s giant slalom is slated for Feb. 25, and the men’s slalom will take place Feb. 26.

“Maybe a little bit,” Seymour said of feeling the added pressure of an event like this. “You can only ski as well as you can ski, so you can’t do anything special to try to get faster that week. You have already been selected to be there, so at the end of the day you have nothing to lose by trying to as fast as possible.”

To reach John F. Russell, call 970-871-4209, email jrussell@SteamboatPilot.com or follow him on Twitter @Framp1966.


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