Seventeen-year-old ski jumper Brian Wallace participated in the Junior World Championships January 25-31 in Otepaa, Estonia for the second time. He will next participate in the U.S. Junior Olympics in Salisbury, Connecticut February 22-26.
Ski jumper Brian Wallace, son of Kathy and Brian Wallace of Woodbury and grandson of Delores and the late Lyle Saethre of Grand Marais, participated in the World Junior Championships January 25-31 in Otepaa, Estonia. Seventeenyear old Wallace, a junior at Woodbury High School, is on the U.S. National Junior Ski Team, and this was the second time he competed in the World Junior Championships.
“Brian has been jumping since second grade,” Kathy wrote to the Cook County News-Herald. “He was only 12 when he went to the Junior Olympics—[the] U.S. national competition for ages 14 to 16— and has participated in that competition yearly since then.”
Only three American ski jumpers are named to the World Junior Championships team. This year, two of them were from the St. Paul Ski Club, the oldest active club in the country, said Kathy. They jumped against the best jumpers in the world, she said, some of whom were in the Winter Olympics last year.
Christian Friberg (left) and Brian Wallace are two of the three American ski jumpers who competed in the Junior World Championships. Both belong to the St. Paul Ski Club.
“St. Paul’s largest hill is only a 46-meter jump,” Kathy said, “but our program develops some of the best jumpers in the nation. We have produced multiple Olympians. Brian’s goal is to be in the Olympics in 2014. On January 31 Kathy Wallace reported, “Out of the 78 athletes worldwide, Brian came in 54th. The competition consists of one trial jump that does not count and two [competition] jumps. All skiers jump the trial and the first [competition] jump. After the first [competition] jump, then the field is cut to 30 and only the top 30 take the second jump. Brian did not make the cut. He was bummed, but only one of the three U.S. skiers made the cut and he (Peter [Frenette]) ended up 27th.
“It’s a great experience for him to be there, and to be 54th in the world for his age group is incredible!”
Brian will participate in the U.S. Junior Olympics in Salisbury, Connecticut February 22-26. This summer he will train in Lake Placid, New York and Park City, Utah.
Brian’s sister Elizabeth, 15, is also a ski jumper and will participate in the Junior Olympics for the second time this February.
Sponsors are gratefully appreciated to help Brian with the cost of training and being on the U.S. National Junior Ski Team. Those interested in sponsoring Brian can contact his mother at kathy@krwallace.com.
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