Steamboat’s Brabec takes 4th at event opener of Nordic combined World Ski Championships

Steamboat’s Alexa Brabec took fourth in the Women's Mass Start Normal Hill competition on Thursday in Trondheim, Norway, part of the World Ski Championships.

Racing on a 5-kilometer mass start course and jumping on a 102 meter ski jump, Brabec opened the competition day in 7th while pushing herself to stay with the lead pack of skiers.

She crossed the finish in 13 minutes, 54.6 seconds, just 18.3 seconds off the lead skier. Brabec’s 93 meter jump was good for 8th overall, landing her in 4th for the competition.

Steamboat’s Annika Malacinski and Ella Wilson joined Brabec in Norway, finishing 25th and 36th, respectively.

The competition continued Friday with the Mixed Team Normal Hill event. Steamboat’s Brabec, Annika Malacinski and Niklas Malacinski were represented on the four-person team with Ben Loomis of Eau Claire, Wisconsin at anchor.

Following a top-five team jumping performance, the Americans struggled on the cross country course and finished 9th overall in the competition of 10 countries.

The Nordic combined events continue through March 8. All events can be viewed live or on demand at SkiAndSnowboard.live.

Saturday, March 1
4 a.m. — Men’s Compact Normal Hill HS102/7.5km
Sunday, March 2 4 a.m. — Women’s Gundersen Normal Hill HS102/5km
Thursday, March 6 3 a.m. — Men’s Team Large Hill HS138/4x5km
Saturday, March 8 1:30 a.m. — Men’s Gundersen Large Hill HS138/10km

To reach Tom Skulski, call 970-871-4240, email [email protected].