The past two days of the Canadian Cross Country Ski Nationals and the US Super Tour Finals were full of excitement as competitors duked it out in the individual sprint events. The sprint competitions started with a qualifying time trial and then the top 30 athletes moved onto the sprint finals. The sprint heats were elimination format and the final round consisted of the six fastest athletes at the line.
Yesterday (Wednesday, March 23), the Open, U20 and Para Athletes all competed. And then today (Thursday, March 24) it was the U18 and U16 athletes. The finals heats were all nail biters with some wild and wet weather for the SR athletes and today’s younger athletes were graced with lots of sunshine but an icy course. There were many surprises and a few crashes too. The course wound its way up a steep hill behind the Olympic rings and then skiers shot back down a technical and fast descent looping into the stadium for a final flat push to the finish.
Alexandra Luxemoore from Revelstoke took the overall win in the U18 Girls sprints, Photo: Cara Gordon
BC athletes again claimed many top podium spots. See overall results for the day here:
https://zone4.ca/race/2022-03-23/5d4b57ee/results/
In the ‘Canadian College University National Championship Category’, Katie Weaver from North Vancouver took first place for the women and Whistler local, Michael Murdoch, took fourth place.
Tomorrow (March 25), there will be more excitement with the TEAM SPRINTS. Catch the action at 1pm from Whistler Olympic Park tomorrow ON OUR LIVE FEED (includes commentary). Confirmed categories: Open Mens, Open Womens and action from U16 + U18 Girls & Boys. 700 Meter Skate laps (depending on category, there is a range of laps between 2 -4). Here is a link to the live feed if you can’t make it into the stadium:
Here is also a handy ‘links’ page for more information and to watch previous races:
The schedule for the rest of the week can be found here.
This weekend will have a festive atmosphere and spectators are welcome. Anyone who pays an entry to Whistler Olympic Park is welcome to watch the race action.
For all media inquiries contact Jeneen Sutherland at [email protected]
