Gavin Rowell just wants his folks back home in Prince George to know all they money they've spent financing his racing career over the years did not go to waste.
That love and support paid off in a big way Thursday in Reiteralm, Austria, where Rowell won the silver medal in the men's FIS freestyle ski cross world junior championship
"The Europa Cup races in Rieteralm helped me get ready for this event, (and I arrived feeling) well prepared for this level of competition," said Rowell, quoted on the Alpine Canada website.
"The heats today were extremely tight, and it was important to use every piece of terrain on the course. I was very happy that I could execute some passes in the big final and bring it home."
Rowell, a member of the Prince George Ski Club, won his four-skier race in the eights and finished second in his quarterfinal and semifinal heats, and was second in the big final.
David Mobaerg of Sweden won gold and Douglas Crawford of Australia was the bronze medalist.
It was a great day for Canada on the Austrian slopes. Zoe Chore of Cranbrook won gold in the women's race. Chore has had a dominant season in junior international events, wining seven NorAm and Europa Cup medals this season, five of them gold.
"Having a strong group of teammates this year has pushed me to become better, stronger, faster," said Chore, who was eighth in a Europa Cup race last weekend on the Reiteralm course. "I had a solid qualifying run, and could build on my performance from last week. Good starts and a strong tactical plan were very important for me in both the semifinal and final rounds. Everything came together today."
Talina Gantenbein of Switzerland and Celia Funkler of Germany won silver and bronze respectively.
Carson Cook of Edmonton and Sarah Clarke of Calgary each posted top-10 finishes. Cook was third in the small final and finished seventh overall, while Clarke ended up ninth.
In other Canadian results, Mara Bishop of Calgary was 14th, Callum McEwen of Sturgeon County, Alta., was 23rd), Kiersten Vincett of Galahad, Alta., was 25th and Phil Tremblay of Calgary was 43rd.
The NextGen team will gather at Sunshine Village near Banff for the last two NorAm races of the season, which will serve as the Canadian ski cross championship, April 13-14.
Tiana Gairns of Prince George a member of Alpine Canada's national B team, had shoulder surgery in the fall which scuttled her season.
