In a busy day outside of Minsk, Belarus, Sean Doherty finished 11th for the U.S. in the junior men's pursuit, followed by Canada's Aidan Millar in 14th; Millar's teammate Pearce Hanna placed 13th in the youth men's race. We caught up with nine different North American competitors, plus have a gallery of photos by Jake Ellingson and Jane Robertson to share.
Conway, New Hampshire, might not be surprised that yet again, Sean Doherty is bringing home a medal in his luggage from a major international competition. But after two years of winning at the youth level, making the podium as a junior is still a big accomplishment. Doherty starts Sunday's pursuit ten seconds out of first place.
Stepping up from youth to junior racing is supposed to be hard - but in doing so, Canmore's Aidan Millar turned in his best result ever in international championship racing. "I’m finding it hard to believe that I was actually able to get that result," he wrote of finishing 8th in the 10 k sprint in Belarus.
When Chloe Levins arrived in Belarus, she had been sick and missed a training block. She wasn't thrilled with her first race, but by the time round two rolled around she was ready: Levins cleaned all ten targets to place 18th. Pearce Hanna led the Canadian team by finishing 34th in the men's 7.5 k sprint.