Park City, Utah (February 9, 2024) – Women’s Nordic Combined competed in the HS102/5km event at the FIS Nordic Junior World Ski Championships earlier today in Planica, Slovenia. Alexa Brabec took second overall, bringing home the first-ever medal in Women’s Nordic Combined for the United States at Junior World Championships. Kai McKinnon was able to record a top 10 finish as well, placing 6th overall in her first-ever Junior Worlds appearance.
On the hill, Brabec jumped to the 10th position, putting together an 86.5 meter jump for 97.1 points, +1:08 behind first place for the 5km race. McKinnon jumped to 15th, as she went 79.5 meters for 94.3 points. Ella Wilson finished 29th, going 71.0 meters for 73.7 points, with Haley Brabec rounding things off in 30th, jumping to 71.0 meters for 68.4 points.
In the 5km race, Brabec skied up to 4th place after 1.25km, and maintained her position after 2.5km as well. Brabec was then able to slide into 1st place after 3.75km, just +0.7 seconds in front of Finland’s Minja Korhonen. Brabec crossed the finish line second overall, +1.5 seconds behind Korhonen (15:26.2 total time), as she brought home the silver medal for the United States at Junior World Championships.
“Unbelievably proud of Alexa and Kai,” said Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined Sport Director Anders Johnson. “Alexa has been on a roll the past few weeks building into the Junior World Championships and really fought hard for her silver medal today. And with Kai right behind her in 6th place, it shows how strong our Women’s Nordic Combined team is at the moment.”
McKinnon then finished 6th overall, completing the 5km course in 16:04.7, carding a top 10 finish during her first-ever individual event at Junior World Championships. Haley Brabec finished the 5km in 26th place (18:58.7 total time), with Ella Wilson right behind in 27th (19:03.5 total time).
