Last winter, Abigail Strate became one of the best and most popular ski jumpers ever. In an exclusive interview, the 22-year-old reveals how she managed to do this despite not having any ski jumps available in her home country of Canada, how she deals with the increased interest in herself and what she is most excited about and working towards in the approaching winter sport.de.
Abigail, the summer season recently ended. How are you at the moment and how have you spent your time since the Summer Grand Prix finale in Klingenthal?
Abigail Strate: After the summer season concluded, I returned to North America. First, I flew to Lake Placid in the USA to support our Canadian juniors at the US championships as a coach. After a week there, I returned to my home in Calgary for the first time in four full months in Europe. I spend my weeks at home with my family and my pets. I also went on a hike or two and went fishing. And I have decided to watch all the films in the Harry Potter series with my sister.
How did the summer and the preparation go from your point of view?
I had a different approach this time over the course of the summer and into early fall. Last season I already felt tired in January and the rest of the season my mental battery was quite weak and I had to fight a lot in the second half of the season.
Last year I did some very good jumps in September and October. That’s why I made a plan with my trainers to delay these ‘best jumps’ so that I don’t reach my highest level until winter. As far as preparation goes, I did everything I could during the summer months to be ready for the winter both physically and mentally, more importantly.
The World Ski Federation FIS introduced a number of new rules in the summer. How did you cope with these changes and how do you generally deal with the material as a small team?
Fortunately, our trainers and supervisors take care of the technical and rule-specific aspects of the sport, so that we jumpers can concentrate fully on the jumping technique and training. Our team is small, even tiny, but we have a great support system that helps us get the best material our budget can afford.
At the Summer Grand Prix final in Klingenthal, there were three incidents at the start in the second round in which athletes either jumped too late or didn’t jump at all. You were one of those affected and your trainer Janko Zwitter didn’t let you go despite the jury giving you permission to start. What happened from your perspective?
The conditions were very irregular this round and although it was an unfortunate and unsatisfactory end to the summer season for me, I am glad that the situation was not worse and I came out of it unscathed. It’s better for this to happen in the summer than in the winter when there’s a lot more at stake.
Did you subsequently speak to Joséphine Pagnier and Eirin Maria Kvandal, who were also affected?
I haven’t spoken to them personally, but I believe the situation was the same for all of us: the coaches had our best interests at heart and were unwilling to let us jump in unsafe or unfair conditions, even if the jury gave the green had given light.
What did you personally learn or take away from this situation?
There wasn’t much for me to learn. I put all my trust in my coach and will only jump if he waves me off. Of course I could have looked at the starting lights and noticed that the time (10 seconds, editor’s note) was running out and should start. But in our team it is always the coach who gives the final signal and not the color of the starting light.
While we were in Klingenthal, one thing was striking: you were on the cover of the stadium magazine and were extremely popular with the fans at the ski jump. What does that do to you and how do you deal with it?
It makes me very proud to be lucky enough to come into contact with a potentially completely new fan base and to be able to develop a presence at competitions in Germany and on German television. It is part of the road to success to gain notoriety and also to find opportunities to get new sponsors. And I think I can benefit from that too.
It’s fair to say that last winter was your most successful so far. Can you describe what has changed for you and your teammates during this time?
That’s right, everything has improved consistently and significantly over the last two winters. The real upswing began in spring 2021 when we started working with Janko Zwitter and Igor Čužnar. These two coaches gave us a completely new perspective on the sport and started us back from scratch.
We learned that it is important to take every single step: from the starting point at the beginning of the summer on the 20-meter hill and basic training in the weight room to slowly work our way up to the World Cup hills. Our team thrives on trust, communication and a healthy mix of team thoughts and our very individual “success stories”.
This is what Strate and Co. are doing without ski jumps in their home country
Unlike your competitors from other nations, as Canadian ski jumpers you have no opportunity to train on World Cup-compatible ski jumps in your home country. The ski jumps in Calgary have now been closed for five years. How are you doing with that?
It’s really sad to come home for just a few weeks a year and see our former training facility so lifeless. I feel incredibly sorry for the young children who either already play our sport or want to.
But: The spark of hope has not yet disappeared. I recently had the pleasure of working with some young athletes and I see a lot of passion and potential in them. You have to have a very strong heart to be a Canadian ski jumper, at any age. And I believe that is exactly what made us the wonderful athletes we are today.
Are there currently prospects of new large ski jumps in Calgary or elsewhere in Canada?
In the here and now, the entire ski jumping community in Canada agrees that the focus must be on small jumps so that we continue to have athletes to keep the sport alive.
Even if there were large ski jumps in Calgary, the national team would continue to train in Europe because the connection to the ski jumping world is much closer and it also makes much more sense in terms of traveling to competitions. If there were big ski jumps in Canada, the big difference for us would be that we would have the chance to spend more time at home, especially in spring and fall, and be able to continue jumping.
In a month and a half, on December 1st, the World Cup winter begins and with it the wedding for you jumpers. How will you spend the meantime?
I’m just finishing my “break” at home and returning to Europe on October 20th for a final intensive training phase. After five solid months of summer training, my skills and jumping technique are where I want them to be. It’s then a matter of executing the best jumps at the right time. Over the next month and a half I will continue training to get in the best possible physical and mental shape before winter begins in Lillehammer.
What are you most looking forward to and what goals have you set for yourself for the winter?
I’m most looking forward to the Raw Air! I find this tour incredibly exciting – it’s the last spurt of the season and pushes us all to the limits in terms of mental and physical endurance.
My goals for the winter are to fly over 200 meters, win my first World Cup competition, finish on the podium at least three times and finish in the top 6 overall at Raw Air.
Aside from the results, I’m excited to see how much stronger my mind is – whether I can manage to be at 100 percent throughout the season or whether there will be a time when I get tired and feel burnt out. Every season is like a fun new game: you try to prepare as best you can, but when it really starts, you never know exactly how it will turn out until you’re in!
Thank you for the exciting conversation and good luck for the World Cup winter!
The interview was conducted by Luis Holuch