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Villages north of the Arctic Circle aren’t traditional stomping grounds for cross-country skiers, but Annah Hanthorn is about to change that.
The 19-year-old from Fort McPherson, Northwest Territories (pop. 742) is in the midst of a breakout season on the NorAm circuit, and won the Canadian Western Championships junior women’s skate sprint, Saturday (Jan. 17) at the Canmore Nordic Centre.
Hanthorn beat out Edmonton phenom Ember Large in the final. Emily Mcilroy was third.
It was Hanthorn’s third win of the year, which is remarkable considering her humble beginnings. One of 10 Hanthorn children growing up 1,000 kilometres north of Whitehorse on the Dempster Highway, the cheerful skier learned the sport with her family on the remote tundra, as it was basically the only affordable activity the entire family could enjoy.
After falling in love with the sport and training in Whitehorse, she began making waves in 2013 at Ski Nationals in Whistler with a silver medal, and at 17, she made headlines when she biked the 1,000-km route from her home to Whitehorse with her 15-year-old sister Ruth, by themselves.
But this year, she’s been a force on the NorAm circuit. She won a pair of gold medals in distance races in Rossland, B.C., shocking herself in the process. Those results also earned her an invitation to join Canada’s world junior championship team next month.
“It’s exciting. I have had huge support from my teammates and coaches,” Hanthorn said.
Aidan Millar won the men’s sprints. The Canmorite was extremely strong in the final, winning handily over Eric Byram and Tate Macdonald in the final, and again showing he’s fully recovered from a concussion that took him out of competition for three months. Millar will also represent Canada at world junior championships, but as a biathlete.
He rarely gets a chance to sprint, but said it’s one of his favourite races, and he’s well suited for the Canmore course.
“I’ve always been a good 100-metre short sprinter. I’ve built on that. The course is definitely hard. It’s got hills and I can climb those well and I’m heavy, so I’m fast on the finish,” Millar said.
The sprint races attracted more than 500 competitors and many of the country’s top teenagers battled in the junior divisions. Amund Wirstad won gold in the junior boys sprint, edging Canmore’s Stefan Martin and Luke Gerwing. Hannah Mehain won the junior girls sprint, beating out Ingvild Hoymork and India McIsaac, who was racing against girls three years her senior.
Connor McGovern of Manitoba topped the juvenile boys sprint ahead of Xander Harvey and Tallon Noble, while Jenna Sim of Hollyburn won the juvenile girls division over Bailey Johnson and Molly Miller.
