Every second counts for skiers at World Cup event
Finishing less than 6.5 seconds behind the top sprinter is an impressive accomplishment for most skiers, however it was only good for 52nd place for Yukoner Graham Nishikawa, who competed in a World Cup cross-country skiing sprint circuit on the weekend.
Finishing less than 6.5 seconds behind the top sprinter is an impressive accomplishment for most skiers, however it was only good for 52nd place for Yukoner Graham Nishikawa, who competed in a World Cup cross-country skiing sprint circuit on the weekend.
That was the result in Canmore, Alberta on Saturday in the men's 1.2-km sprint, as Nishikawa battled it out in the qualification round, attempting to win a place in the heats and ultimately a spot on the podium.
Alberta's 2008 World Cup was the only World Cup race that will be held in North America this year. It featured four cross country ski races for both male and female, which included the pursuit, sprint classic, free technique and sprint free.
The event was held at the Canmore Nordic Centre from Jan. 22-26.
Despite the placing, Nishikawa wasn't displeased with the result.
"I was so close," he said after the race. "I was only two seconds off qualifying, and I got the best FIS points I've ever received in a race. At this level, I don't even know if I've had a good race or not, I just go as hard as I can and hope to qualify."
Emil Joensson was the eventual race winner, beating out a Russian and a Fin to take the men's title.
On the women's side, local favourite Chandra Crawford won her first World Cup event, to the delight of the thousands of fans who came out to support her. Crawford used a combination of superb gliding ability and tactical smarts to finish in top spot on the podium.
In Friday's competition, Nishikawa raced a tough 15-km free technique race, finishing in 50th place, less than three minutes behind Italian Valerio Checchi, who claimed gold in the event with a time of 36:04.
Nishikawa sister, Emily, also had a respectable finish in her first ever World Cup event.Emily finished 53rd in the women's 10-km race. Her time was 6:52 behind Ukrainian Valentina Shevchenko.
Graham's next competition will be the Eastern Canadian Championships in Ottawa, which begins next weekend, while Emily will head to Wisconsin to compete in a series of regional races.
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