For many, the Holmenkollen 50 k freestyle mass start on Saturday was all about larger goals -- not just the race itself. But to achieve those goals, one had to do well enough in the challenging six-lap race. Alex Harvey improved from 46th to 14th with that mindset, and Noah Hoffman put it all on the line for bonus points.
The 2014 Winter Paralympics officially kick off Friday with the Opening Ceremony in Sochi, Russia, and the Canadian Para-Nordic team is raring to be one of the most dominant teams at the Games, shooting for third in the overall medal count.
For Canada, the 30-kilometer freestyle mass start was less about results and more about the emergence of a unified women's team, which finished within places of one another and stuck together even after the race. While one is continuing on the World Cup, national-team veterans Dasha Gaiazova and Chandra Crawford will not be racing this weekend in Lahti, Finland.
When Alex Harvey tripped over a pole broken by U.S. skier Noah Hoffman, it summed up the whole Olympics for the Canadian team: if one piece was there, the rest was unlucky. Harvey, Ivan Babikov, and Graeme Killick finished 19th, 20th, and 28th, while Jesse Cockney was "just thrilled to have the start."
The Canadian team sprint pair of Devon Kershaw and Alex Harvey was eliminated from the race without even qualifying for the final round. Head Coach Justin Wadsworth said: "This is the worst feeling I've had since I've been with the team."
It was a rough day for Canada in the women's 4 x 5 k relay after Perianne Jones got popped on the first leg. With a strung-out pack, the gap to 13th became difficult to overcome and the Canadians finished 14th.
Devon Kershaw said he felt better skiing Friday than previously at this Olympics, but it was hard to tell with too much grip on a klister day in extremely soft and warm conditions. Kershaw placed 35th, his teammate Ivan Babikov finished 39th, Graeme Killick was 65th and Alex Harvey did not finish.
As if individual starts aren't mentally hard enough, add summer-like conditions to the Winter Olympics and it gets just plain sloppy out there. Brittany Webster was the top Canadian in 42nd in Thursday's 10 k classic race, and Dasha Gaiazova followed in 44th.
Four U.S. women made the heats, Ida Sargent had one of her best freestyle sprints of the season in her first Olympic race, and Jessie Diggins tallied the second-best American result in 13th after Sophie Caldwell — who made U.S. women’s Olympic history in sixth in Tuesday’s sprint.
After ending last season early and then leaving the national team this year, Chandra Crawford has had a long journey in her quest to repeat her 2006 Olympic gold medal in the freestyle sprint. It ended after qualification today, when Crawford placed 44th. "That is so disappointing," she said. "But I’m happy with the effort."
All four U.S. women advanced to the rounds in Tuesday's Olympic 1.3 k freestyle sprint, along with Canada's Perianne Jones and Dasha Gaiazova. Andy Newell led three North American men who qualified in the 1.8 k sprint, with Alex Harvey and Simi Hamilton, respectively.
Photos of the U.S. and Canadian men on the first day of the men's cross-country races at the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia. Two Canadians finished in the top 30, and Noah Hoffman led the U.S. in 35th.
For most, the Olympic experience goes much deeper than results, and that couldn't have been more true for several North Americans competing at the highest stage of their sport for the first time on Saturday. U.S. cross-country skier Jessie Diggins emerged in eighth and Canadian biathlete Nathan Smith tallied 13th to highlight the day.
With the Winter Olympics set to kick off in earnest with the Opening Ceremony on Friday night, the Canadian National Cross-Country Team is ready to go in the mountain village of Krasnaya Polyana, where it's been training for the last few days. This is the story of how their team grew by two just a few weeks before the Olympics, shortly after the official nomination.
The Canadian Olympic Team gave a press conference today in Sochi, discussing how their past experiences have shaped their arrival at this Olympics and what it means to be a team.
En Sochi, Alex Harvey parle de Québec et le niveau des athlètes seniors et juniors, fondeurs et biathlètes, de son province. Il est fier des résultats Québecois aux championnats mondiales juniors, et il a de grands éspoirs pour l'avenir. / In another bilingual piece, Alex Harvey talks about Quebec and the level of athletes, junior and senior, skier and biathlete, in his province.
Of the 18 North Americans that competed in Sunday’s 1.3-kilometer freestyle sprints at the Toblach World Cup, nine made the rounds. Many of them chatted with FasterSkier about the day and final race before the Olympics.
Cross Country Canada announced Tuesday the six men and five women officially nominated onto the Sochi 2014 Canadian Olympic Cross Country Skiing Team:
Four racers proved they deserve a spot on Canada’s Olympic team this weekend in the freestyle sprints and 15/30 k skiathlons. Heidi Widmer (AWCA/NST) and Jesse Cockney (AWCANST) took home top honors in the freestyle sprint, while Graeme Killick (AWCA/NST) and Amanda Ammar (Team Ninja) won the skiathlon.
The Canadian women missed out on advancing to the final by one place on Sunday, finishing seventh nearly 18 seconds behind sixth, while the top six teams made the World Cup 6 x 1.3 k classic team sprint final in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic.