Emily Nishikawa and Erik Bjornsen picked up their first victories of the season in the Black Jack NorAm freestyle sprints on Saturday in Rossland, B.C., coming out on top of heats that were jam-packed with tactics, crashes and tight finishes.
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Sovereign Lake NorAm: Photo Gallery
Alex KochonDecember 10, 2013
Photos from the season-opening NorAm at the Sovereign Lake Nordic Centre, with 10/15 k freestyle and classic-sprint races in temperatures near -18 degrees Celsius on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
Another cold one at Sovereign Lake kept the organizers and athletes scrambling in temperatures around -20 degrees Celsius, but the end result was an exciting first NorAm of the season, with two Americans taking the top spots in the men's 15 k and Heidi Widmer winning the 10 k skate.
Because the Olympics only come around every four years, domestic races hold even more value in the months leading up to the 2014 Sochi Winter Games. In Canada, they’ll determine who will fill approximately four remaining spots on the Olympic nordic team. The fun starts this weekend at Sovereign Lake, British Columbia.
The Four: Alberta World Cup Academy
Alex KochonNovember 19, 2013
With almost the same number of athletes as last year, the AWCA in Canmore, Alberta, has fewer women this season, but coach Chris Jeffries is pleased with the team's training quality despite some injuries. "The group is very focused this year and more mature," he says.
Heidi Widmer Rebounding After Third Concussion
Katie BonoNovember 6, 2013
At 22, Heidi Widmer's suffered three concussions in the last four years, with her most recent resulting from a rollerski crash this fall. "I’m super lucky,” the Canadian NST member says. “There’s no internal bleeding, I’m functioning, I’m fine, but I just have to be able to take care of this and come out of it with some lessons learned for sure.”
Heidi Widmer, 22, isn't one for hanging around. Recently promoted to the Canadian Senior Team, Widmer ended the season with a backcountry trip then flew to El Salvador and New Orleans before training in Switzerland, where she'll spend a month with World Cup and national team skiers.
Heidi Widmer, 22, rolled to her first individual gold and second title in as many days of racing at Canadian Nationals, while the 33-year-old IPC World Cup extraordinaire Brian McKeever won his first Canadian championship just days after flying from Sochi, Russia. Caitlin Gregg and Eliska Hajkova of the U.S. took first and second overall in the 5 k freestyle, and Canadians swept the men's 10 k podium.
Jess Cockney stayed upright despite a tangle in the finishing straight to notch his second-straight team sprint title with Brent McMurtry at Canadian Nationals on Saturday, and Marlis Kromm and Heidi Widmer skied to a nearly 10-second victory in the women's race.
Notes and Quotes: Thomas and Killick Take Western Canadians in Grande Prairie
Gerry FursethFebruary 27, 2013
Canada's domestic series, the NorAms, wrapped up in Grand Prairie, Alberta, this weekend, where Graeme Killick of the Alberta World Cup Academy and Nakkertokk racer Alana Thomas won grueling but exciting three-day minitours. We caught up with podium finishers for their comments on the race.
Widmer Tallies Top 30 in U23 Distance Race; Canadian Men Struggle with Numbers
Gerry FursethJanuary 24, 2013
Heidi Widmer bounced back from what she considered a sub-par sprint to place 28th in Thursday's 10 k freestyle at U23 World Championships in Liberec, Czech Republic. AWCA teammate Annika Hicks was 37th, and just two Canadian men raced with two others out sick.
Canadians Left Wanting More After U23 Worlds Opener; Kromm Closest to Top 30 (Updated)
Alex KochonJanuary 22, 2013
Marlis Kromm of the Alberta World Cup Academy led the Canadians in 32nd in the U23 World Championships classic sprint on what team leader Lisa Patterson called an average day.
Canmore Crowd Lifts Crawford to Sprint Final; Jones Sets Personal Best in 11th
Alex KochonDecember 16, 2012
After winning gold in a World Cup skate sprint in Canmore in 2008, Chandra Crawford has some great memories of racing in her hometown. The Canadian National Team member added to the list Saturday, placing sixth in the 1.3 k sprint for a World Cup season best.
Thirty-six men in the Spray Drag running race didn’t end up chasing Devon Kershaw up Spray Lakes Road in Canmore, Alberta, on Saturday, but they had one heck of a battle from the start. According to American Sylvan Ellefson (Ski & Snowboard Club Vail/Team HomeGrown), the pace was fast for a bunch of nordic skiers early on. “Any road runner could have pulled away, but it was a quick pace,” he wrote in an email....
Kolb Triumphant in U23 Sprint; Bjornsen Leads North American Women in Fourteenth
Audrey ManganFebruary 21, 2012
ERZURUM, Turkey — After scoring points on the World Cup, a victory at U23 World Championships is still a big deal. Just ask Hanna Kolb (GER)—despite having placed 17th this weekend in Szklarska Poreba, Poland sprint, she still thought of her inaugural U23 title as an significant accomplishment. “It is one of the greatest achievements for me,” she said to FIS marketing coordinator Michal Lamplot. “Even though I have won already some World Cup points…this...
Marshall Captures First NorAm Victory of Season
Alex KochonJanuary 21, 2012
Three months may not seem like a long time, but Alysson Marshall couldn’t wait much longer. Since her first race of the season on Nov. 13, the Alberta World Cup Academy and Canadian Senior Development Team member had aimed for the top spot on the podium. Maybe she didn’t expect it in Europe, especially at World Cup races in Kuusamo, Finland, and Düsseldorf, Germany, but she wanted it at home. In six of eight NorAm...
In Whistler, Widmer Completes Perfect Day for AWCA
Audrey ManganJanuary 14, 2012
The women’s headline from Whistler on Saturday could have read exactly like the men’s. Heidi Widmer (AWCA) took gold in the Haywood NorAm freestyle sprint, leading an Alberta World Cup Academy sweep of the top three spots on the podium. Her brother Phil accomplished the same feat only minutes after the completion of the women’s A-final. “That was super special, for sure,” said Widmer of winning the same day as her brother. “It’s really great...
Diggins, Bender Still Going Strong for CXC
Alex KochonDecember 18, 2011
ROSSLAND, British Columbia — Some 2,500 kilometers or 1,550 miles away from Wisconsin, the Central Cross Country (CXC) ski team was feeling a little travel-weary as it rolled into Rossland on Monday. After almost five weeks on the road, some of its members decided to remedy their bodies and minds with a distance ski on the Rossland-Paulson classic-only trail. A little confusion led Jessie Diggins and Jennie Bender to the wrong trail, Seven Summits, where...
VERNON, British Columbia — Throughout Saturday’s NorAm Cup Teck Sprints, Jessie Diggins made a point to look back. There were a lot of things the current SuperTour leader and Central Cross Country (CXC) skier was working on, but keeping her distance ranked near the top. “I’ve had problems where I’ll get stepped on or pushed over or something,” said Diggins, who claimed her second classic sprint victory in the 1.2 k event in as many...
Estonia has been good to Canada’s Dasha Gaiazova. One year after notching a career-best 12th place in the Otepaa classic sprint, Gaiazova did herself four places better in the same event on Sunday, finishing fourth in her semifinal heat and eighth overall. The result netted Gaiazova $750, and a big confidence boost as she heads home to prepare for the 2011 World Championships in Oslo. The racing in Otepaa wrapped up an exceptional two-week stint...