Jesse Cockney made Canadian history at the Haywood NorAm Olympic Trials sprint on Saturday (Jan. 11) at the Canmore Nordic Centre, when he became the first Aboriginal man to qualify for the Olympics in cross-country skiing.
Cockney’s electrifying speed reached blackout levels in the men’s final, where he pulled away from Banff’s Phil Widmer in the final 50 metres of the 1.7-kilometre course.
But the journey to get there was hardly smooth.
On Wednesday (Jan. 8) during the first Olympic trials sprint race, Cockney and Widmer were early favourites. After both sped through the heats, they met in the final. The last two races they were head-to-head in ended in spectacular crashes and with one Olympic sprint spot up for grabs, stakes were high.
The first half of the race didn’t disappoint, as Widmer and Cockney tried to shake the rest of the group. They had a small lead for the final 100 metres when history conspired to repeat itself. Both Cockney, 24, and Widmer, 30, began to jockey for the middle lane 50 metres from the finish. Both refused to give an inch, and Cockney’s left foot hit Widmer’s right ski.
Widmer spun and crashed to the ground while Cockney stumbled through the wreckage. To the right of the collision, Bob Thompson of Thunder Bay, Ont. saw his opening and glided through for his first ever sprint win. Fuming after the crash, Cockney and Widmer got into a heated debate, but a jury ruled the result would stand. Cockney finished second in the heat, while Widmer crossed the line last. The Olympic spot would be decided on Saturday.
After a big snowfall slowed the track for Saturday, both skiers employed different tactics. While Widmer broke the will of his competitors with pure power in the heats, Cockney conserved his energy through a series of cat and mouse games – dropping back to sixth only to surge at the finish line in the heats. One by one, their competitors fell.
In the final, Widmer led from the opening gun while Cockney darted behind in his shadow. As the rest of the pack fell off, Widmer quickened the pace on the final steep climb and through the rocket descent into the stadium. Both reached what appeared to be top speed with less than 100 metres to the finish… then Cockney hit the nitro.
Lactic acid building in his legs, his lungs breathing fire, one thought coursed through his being: Get to the line. Get to the line.
Widmer couldn’t respond in time and lost contact with Cockney. Hooting and hollering across the finish line, he crashed into a heap of snow as tears streamed down his face.
“I’m so happy. I was so scared last week. I had the worst chest infection I’ve ever had. This is amazing,” Cockney said.
Cockney is now the first Aboriginal male to represent Canada in cross-country skiing, carrying on the tradition Olympians Sharon and Shirley Firth began decades ago. He’s spent most of the season struggling on the world cup, but was vindicated on the day.
“It just feels so good right now. I haven’t won a race in a while. I picked the right day,” Cockney said.
At the official team announcement, he spoke of how he was inspired by 100m sprinter Donovan Bailey to pursue an Olympic dream and how he wants to inspire others to live a healthy and active lifestyle. In return, Bailey actually sent encouragement to Cockney over Twitter.
Widmer was gracious in defeat. He was one of the first to congratulate Cockney after the win.
“I wanted to win today and I’m definitely not feeling great that I didn’t. I’m happy with my speed today, but didn’t have the power in the last 100 metres,” said Widmer.
The result left him questioning his race strategy, but he gave full credit to Cockney for the win.
“I felt I wanted to test the pace because I felt so good in the semis. I knew there was a chance to break the field and I did, except for Jesse. Jesse was so strong in the finish, so hats off to him. I don’t regret my strategy. but if I were to do it again I would have been more tactical knowing my legs didn’t quite have it,” Widmer said.
Patrick Stewart-Jones finished third in Saturday’s race to secure his spot on Canada’s U-23 team. Cockney now joins Devon Kershaw, Alex Harvey, Ivan Babikov, Lenny Valjas and Graeme Killick on the men’s team.
