Under 23 Questions: Gareth Williams

In an effort to showcase the North Americans who competed at last week’s International Ski Federation (FIS) 2018 Nordic Junior/U23 World Championships in Goms, Switzerland, we asked those qualifying athletes several questions about themselves — actually, we had them fill in the blanks. Here we have 20-year-old Gareth Williams, of Telemark Nordic and the Canadian National U25 Team, who represented Canada at his first U23 Worlds (after competing at last year’s Junior Worlds in Utah).

Last week in Goms, Williams placed 41st in the 15 k classic.

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“My full name is Gareth James Williams, but you can call me G-Will.

I was born in Vancouver and raised in Kelowna, and I learned to ski at Telemark Nordic Club.

I spent the time between Mont Sainte-Anne trials and Junior/U23 Worlds at Mont Sainte-Anne and Praz de Lys in France training to race my best this week.

The most fun workout I did in the last training year to prepare for this was altitude ski up the downhill slopes of Big White with my team and coach Adam.

This is my third time in Switzerland and fifth time racing internationally, and so far it’s been much more competitive!

One difference I’ve noticed between Switzerland and Canada is the price of a cappuccino!

Skiing and racing in the Alps is kind of like skiing in Western Canada. Usually racing at altitude is good for me because I train at altitude fairly often. There are lots of mountains around where I live.

One of the things I’m most excited about for Junior/U23 Worlds in Goms is the beautiful mountains.

One race I’m especially targeting there is the skiathlon.

I really hope I can chat/make friends with someone from Australia and ask them what the difference is between a wallaby and a kangaroo.

My favorite thing at the breakfast where we are staying is the coffee.

Fondue is not something I usually eat while trying to ski fast! The cheese here is not my thing. And the chocolate is the best in the world!

If I had a totally free day here and didn’t have to worry about race fitness or training, I’d spend it on top of a mountain with some alpine skis.

The best way to follow me on social media is on Instagram @gareth_williams.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/BevRjUyFqDh/?taken-by=gareth_williams_