March 25, 2014 - 7:31 PM
WHISTLER, B.C. - Marie-Michele Gagnon completed a sweep of North American slalom titles on Tuesday by winning her 11th Canadian championship.
Gagnon, from Lac-Etchemin, Que., won the U.S. nationals slalom title on the weekend by just one one-hundredth of a second and secured the double by winning Tuesday's race in Whistler, B.C., by clocking a two-run combined time of 1:45.27 seconds— more than two seconds faster than her closest competitor.
"Having a Canadian championship is always a good title. It's a cool thing, for sure," said Gagnon, who has national titles in slalom, giant slalom, super-G and super combined. "There was a lot of snow and it made it pretty soft. Challenging conditions today."
Gagnon, who is ranked sixth in the world in slalom and had a stellar 2013-14 season, racking up more than 500 World Cup points overall and claiming her first World Cup victory. She has more Canadian titles than any other active racer and despite being only 24.
Gagnon led a 1-2-3 of Canadian World Cup slalom skiers, with Britt Phelan of Mont-Tremblant, Que., finishing second and Erin Mielzynski, of Collingwood, Ont., finishing third.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2014