Nishikawa stuck at 66

In two Scandinavian World Cup races in two weeks Graham Nishikawa has been less than two minutes from the top spot on the podium, and has found himself with two 66th place finishes. What gives?

In two Scandinavian World Cup races in two weeks Graham Nishikawa has been less than two minutes from the top spot on the podium, and has found himself with two 66th place finishes.  What gives?

This weekend, competing in Kuusamo, Finland in a 15-kilometre classic technique race, Nishikawa was only 1:45 behind Norwegian Petter Northug who stopped the clock in a lightning fast 35:22. Once again, demonstrating the brutal competition in these European World Cup races, Nishikawa finished a disappointing 66th place.

Top Canadian for the day was Ivan Babikov, who finished in the 38th spot, also well below expectations. 

The Canadian team is starting to feel it’s cursed by this race series.  They started off the weekend with coach Inge Braten falling on the treacherous Finnish ice and breaking his hip, knocking him off the coaching roster for the rest of the season.

Despite the low Finnish placing, Nishikawa’s Olympic dreams are still alive. His next major test will be a series of five Olympic qualifying races to be held in December, split between Sovereign Lakes, B.C. and Canmore, Alta. That series kicks off on Dec. 12 and concludes on Dec. 22.

Submitted by Alain Masson and Claude Chabot.