Slushy Slippery Conditions Make for a Tough Day at Callaghan »

Whistler Olympic Park, BC (Mar 26, 2013) – Despite difficult waxing conditions, skiers persevered today on a slushy course. Wax techs and coaches scrambled throughout the day to get faster but still grippy skis for their athletes for the first classic race of the week. 

Just like Sunday’s free technique race, racers skied the courses individually unless they were able to make up the gap and catch those in front of them. Each skier was timed using a chip fastened around the ankle. 

The Junior Girls started us off today with a 10 km course of 2.5 km laps. The winner was Skinouk’s Sophie Carrier-Laforte with a time of 32:13. Arctic Nordic’s Annah Hanthorn took silver with a time of 33:02 and Edmonton Nordic’s Ember Large was third with a time of 33:58. 

Next up were the Juvenile Girls skiing a 5 km. Katie Weaver of Hollyburn Ski Club took gold in a time of 15:56. Just behind her was her teammate Annika Richardson in a time of 16:06 and Gabrielle Sarthou rounded out the top three in a time of 16:16. 

The Junior Boys 7.5 km classic race was a bit spread out today. Thomas Hardy of Larch Hills won gold in a time of 20 minutes 29 seconds. Second place went to Ricardo Izquierdo-Bernier of Fondeurs-Laurentides in a time of 20 minutes 57 seconds and Angus Foster of Big Thunder came third with a time of 21 minutes and 2 seconds.

The Juvenile Boys also skied a 7.5 km course, crowning Caelan Mclean from the Whitehorse Cross Country Ski Club with a time of 21:40. Ryan Jackson of Team Hardwood came second in a time of 22:32 and Mclean’s teammate Marcus Deuling finished third in a time of 22:37. 

Louis Fortin of Team New Brunswick won the 7.5 km Para-Nordic Standing Men’s race in a time of 33:37. Jerry King of Highlands Nordic powered into second place with a time of 36:31 and Gabriel Denis of Temiskaming Nordic nabbed third with a time of 36:47. 

While the Para-Nordic Standing Women category might be small with only two women, they were mighty on the trails today with Margarita Gorbounova finishing off the 7.5 km race in a time of 33:27 and Christine Henry finishing second in a time of 37 minutes even. 

Then it was time for the big guns. The Open Female’s 10 km race once again covered three very competitive categories – Open Women, U23 Women, and Junior Girls. 

National Team member Dasha Gaiazova won the Open Women category with a time of 34:04. Chisa Obayashi of Madshus Japan took silver in a time of 35:27 and Perianne Jones, also on the Canadian National Team, rounded out the podium in a time of 35:39. 

In the U23 category, Heidi Widmer continued her domination of the podium with a time of 36 minutes flat. Local racer Kajsa Heyes of Hollyburn Ski Club nabbed second with a time of 37:18 and Kara Jaspers of Big Thunder came third with a time of 37:21. 

Yesterday’s bronze medalist, Anne-Marie Comeau of Mont Ste-Anne, won the Junior Women’s race in a time of 36:36. Whitehorse Cross Country Ski Club’s Kendra Murray took the silver in a time of 37:07 and her teammate Dahria Beatty took third in a time of 37:29. 

The Open Male category’s 15 km course starters were so warm that many were racing shirtless or shorts. Brent McMurtry took the win in the Open Men’s race in a time of 41:26, beating out University of Colorado’s Rune Malo Oedegaard by 22 seconds. Whitehorse Cross Country Ski Club’s David Greer rounded out the podium in a time of 42:11. 

The U23 Men’s race was won by Knute Johnsgaard of Whitehorse Cross Country Ski Club in a time of 43:03. Russel Kennedy of Canmore Nordic won silver in a time of 43:50 and Nakkertok’s Patrick Stewart-Jones took bronze in a time of 44:03. 

In the Junior Men’s category, David Palmer of Black Jack won with a time of 44:24, Matthew Vrielink took silver for the Rock Mountain Racers in a time of 45:12, and Sebastien Dandurand of Canmore Nordic finished in third with a time of 45:42. 

The Para-Nordic Men’s Sit skiers skied three laps of a 2.5 km course and though the snow was getting soft, they persevered. Chris Klebl took the win in a time of 27:48. Yves Bourque of Mauriski took silver again with a time of 33:19, and Kenny LaCombe of Enchanted Forest won bronze in a time of 38:55. 

The Para-Nordic Women Sit Skiers skied 2 laps of the same course for a 5 km race. Emily Suchy of Revelstoke won again with a time of 20:38. Colette Bourgonje of Sturgeon Nordic came second in a time of 21:43, and Tanya Quesnel of Walden came in third in a time of 31:20.

Full results can be found at www.skinationals.com or www.zone4.ca. Pictures can be accessed through the XC Ski Nationals 2013 Flickr site at http://flic.kr/ps/2rnrj3.

 

Ski Nationals 2013 would like to thank event sponsors Haywood Securities, Buff Canada, Clif Bar, The Nordic Shop of Squamish BC, Deep Cove Outdoors, Impact Canopies Canada, Q Energy, Executive Suites Hotel & Resort, the Whistler Question, The Squamish Chief, Avis, Salomon, Fischer, Swix, Nesters Market, Halti Skiwear, Sauce Headwear, Bliz Active Eyewear, One Way, Rossignol, Ski Go Wax, RC, Icebreaker, Whistler Hotels, Silverfoot, Whistler Chocolate, Whistler Brewing Company, as well as the support of the Whistler Athletes’ Centre, and Hosting BC.