Pair of Steamboat moguls skiers make their Junior World Ski Championships debut

Kazakhstan Ski Association/Shymbulak Mountain Resort
Steamboat’s mogul phenoms Abby McLarnon and Anabel Ayad continue to impress on the biggest stages of the sport, this time at the FIS Junior World Ski Championships in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
McLarnon and Ayad each earned their spots in Junior Worlds based on results from U.S. Freestyle Selections that took place in Winter Park in December. Only the top six boys and top six girls from the country earned selection, making it one of the top honors for U20 athletes.
Day 1 of Junior Worlds was the singles event on Jan. 7. McLarnon, 18, was the top-performing American athlete in singles with an impressive fourth-place finish thanks to good turns on the way down her run. Ayad, 19, was not far behind in sixth, posting the third-fastest time down the course in the second final.
Duals day on Jan. 8 pitted McLarnon against familiar faces including her current roommate and Ski and Snowboard Club Vail teammate Reese Chapdelaine, as well as Ayad.
Those three earned the second-, third- and fourth-place positions with Chapdelaine taking silver, McLarnon bronze and Ayad P4.
McLarnon narrowly lost to Chapdelaine in the semifinal, later being pitted against Ayad in the event’s small final.
McLarnon earned maximum points in the small final due to Ayad being unable to finish her run.
It was Ayad who would get the best of McLarnon on the third and final day of the competition, in the Mixed Dual Moguls Team event on Thursday.
Ayad was paired with teammate Chase Littlefield. After a loss in the semifinal, the duo managed to bounce back with a victory over the Swedish team to secure third place and a bronze medal for Ayad.
McLarnon, skiing with teammate Porter Huff, narrowly lost to the team from Kazakhstan in the quarterfinal, but managed to secure fifth overall in the event.
McLarnon won both of her duals in the team event but was unable to move on with her teammate, losing his head-to-head run to Kazakhstan’s male finisher.
This was both McLarnon’s and Ayad’s first time competing in a Junior World Ski Championship mogul competition, marking important milestones in very promising futures in the sport.

To reach Tom Skulski, call 970-871-4240, email tskulski@SteamboatPilot.com.

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