Skip to content

Canmore's McKeever edged out of junior world cross-country sprint

Canmore's McKeever, one of Canada's hottest skiing prospects, missed out from advancing in the sprint heats at the international competition on Saturday (Jan. 28).

WHISTLER, British Columbia – Rising ski prospect and Canmore's Xavier McKeever missed advancing to the semifinals of the junior men's sprint classic at the FIS Nordic Junior World Ski Championships on Saturday (Jan. 28) in Whistler, British Columbia.

The 19-year-old McKeever was bounced from the heats after finishing third in the qualification round. The top two in each heat automatically move to the next round.

During the opening competition of the junior worlds, the highly touted nephew of Paralympian champion, Brian McKeever, pulled off a slick move in the sharp Heartbreak Corner, moving from fifth to second in a blink of an eye in the six-person heat.

However, moments later while turning into a tight corner, Swede skier Erik Bergstroem boxed out the Canmorite and slowed him down as McKeever dropped to third coming into the intense 100-metre straight.

McKeever (2:53.3) fiercely double-polled to the finish line, but was beaten by Bergstroem and Ilan Pittier.

The podium winners for the junior men were Sweden's Anton Grahn and Elias Danielsson winning gold and silver, respectively, and Finland's Eerio Rantala taking bronze.

Finland's Eevi-Inkeri Tossavainen won gold in the junior women's sprint. Norway's Milla Grosberghaugen Andreassen was second, and Sweden's Lisa Eriksson took bronze.

The U23 sprints are Sunday (Jan. 29). A YouTube livestream of the race starts at 1 p.m. MST.


Rocky Mountain Outlook

About the Author: Rocky Mountain Outlook

The Rocky Mountain Outlook is Bow Valley's No. 1 source for local news and events.
Read more


Comments

push icon
Be the first to read breaking stories. Enable push notifications on your device. Disable anytime.
No thanks