There was no rest for heartbroken cross-country skiers who narrowly missed their Olympic ticket to Sochi.
After a rest week, most headed to Ottawa/Gatineau to race 700 up and coming athletes for the Eastern Canadian championship title.
Battling for the overall NorAm title which will guarantee valuable world cup starts later in the season, several top names had to prove their fitness once again in variable conditions.
Raphael Couturier won the men’s skate sprint in decisive fashion, defeating Graham Nishikawa and Michael Somppi in the final to kick off to the races on Jan. 31. Alysson Marshall was the women’s fastest sprinter, as she defeated Andrea Dupont and Erin Tribe in the A final.
Dupont climbed to the top of the podium again in the 10 kilometre skate, earning a decisive 17-second win over ski ninja Zoe Roy and Erin Tribe of Team Hardwood on Saturday (Feb. 1).
Nishikawa was the fastest Canadian man in the 15 km freestyle race, this time defeating Couturier by 13 seconds. Somppi was third again, 31 second back. The Whitehorse native proved his fitness again on Feb. 2 with an even stronger win in the 20 km classic mass start, where he was 30 seconds ahead of Somppi and Chris Hamilton, who tied for second. Kevin Sandau finished in the third spot.
Marshall grabbed gold in the women’s 15 km classic mass start race, edging out Dupont by six seconds. Roy grabbed the bronze again, nine seconds off the pace.
Local athletes performed well in the younger age groups as well.
Cross-country skiers Reed Godfrey, Thomas Manktelow and Ty Godfrey swept the podium in the juvenile category at the Eastern Canadian championships in what was a successful weekend for Canmore Nordic Athletes.
Sam Hendry won a pair of medals in the midget boys category, where Alexander Harvey also grabbed a silver, and Molly Jane Strum grabbed a bronze in the juvenile girls division.
Meanwhile, Canmore Nordic also sent a handful of athletes to the Western Canadian Biathlon Championships in British Columbia. Aidan Miller and Matt Strum both came home with gold and silver medals in the senior boys division, while Lucas Fabbri finished in fourth place.
