Charbonnier treasures double gold amid tough conditions at Junior Alpine Worlds

Emy Charbonnier (FRA) sealed a golden double as action got underway in challenging conditions at the FIS Alpine Junior World Ski Championships in Narvik, Norway.

The 20-year-old combined speed, technical skill and courage to propel herself to her maiden junior world title in the Super G in 47.96secs.

That gave Ilona Charbotel (FRA) an advantage going into the Women’s Team Combined which she was never going to relinquish.

She pushed across the line in 40.80secs for a combined 1:28.76 for gold ahead of Italy 1 and Austria 1 who clinched silver and bronze respectively.

They were, they laughed, the “dream team,” saying: “We definitely are. We are the Charbo team.”

It had been a challenging few days for the rising stars of the sport with Saturday’s Downhill races cancelled because of high winds and bad weather.

Instead, the Super G would be the first crown decided with Charbonnier the ninth skier to leave the gate amid swirling snow.

She mastered the technical, high-speed course as several skiers lost time on the mid-section.

It saw her leapfrog early leader Logan Grosdidier (USA) who’d laid down 48.37secs on the second run of the day and Austrian Pia Hauzenberger (48.48secs).

The trio remained in the top three slots despite a nervous wait as the 46-strong field completed their runs.

Charbonnier was 15th on her junior worlds debut at Haute-Savoie 2024 and 18th at Tarvisio 2025 before making a huge leap to the top of the Narvik podium a year later.

She was pumped and proud of what she’d achieved despite the conditions which gave Charbotel an advantage going into the Slalom element.

“The weather is very bad but the snow is compact,” she said. “When the snow is okay I just ski and enjoy the moment.”

Grosdidier – who turned 17 last December - significantly upgraded her 19th -place finish at Tarvisio 2025.

The USA athlete pulled out all the stops on the bottom portion of the course after an early error.

“I was not really expecting to do so well,” she said. “It’s a very technical Super G and it was very fun.”

Hauzenberger beamed: “Really happy right now. Just trying to enjoy the mood and take the good energy with me.”

Snow had turned to rain at the bottom of the course by the time the Team Combined came around.

As the competition wore on Italian teams were in a sweep of the podium headed by Italy 1 after Anna Trocker fired off the third fastest run of the field (39.91) following Ludovica Righi’s 10th place (49.23) in the Super G.

Leonie Raich (AUT) built on Hauzenberger’s third place in the Super G with a 40.80 run as the pair went into second in 1:29.28 with only Charbotel left to go.

The French pair clinched gold by 0.38 ahead of Italy 1 with Austria 1 a further 0.14 behind.

Trocker had felt the pre-race pressure, saying: “I was very nervous because I want to put this race away but I’m happy.”

Raich added: “It was really tricky conditions and it was hard to push and to get the speed but I tried my best and I’m very happy that I can ski like that.”

Hauzenberger finished the opening day with two bronze medals and she paid tribute to her teammate.

“She did a great job and I’m so happy to celebrate a second medal today.” 

You can catch the next generation of talent in action at FIS TV which will livestream the competition with English commentary: FIS TV

You can also watch on the FIS Alpine YouTube channel: FIS Alpine - YouTube

Athletes and NSAs will have access to the FIS Content Exchange Platform, a centralized digital hub where they can access and download high-quality competition footage including personalized runs and action pictures.

These can then be shared on the athletes’ and NSA’s social media platforms. 

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