In a tight finish, Graham Nishikawa narrowly missed taking the gold at the Western Canadian Cross Country Ski Championships in Kelowna, B.C., over the weekend.

He finished the weekend only 0.3 seconds out of the top position, just behind Drew Goldsack of the Rocky Mountain Racers club.

The Westerns used a three-race "mini-tour” format, consisting of a short distance classic technique prologue, a sprint race and a final longer distance free technique race with a staggered handicap start, so that the first across the line was the overall winner for the series.

This concept is fairly new in Canada, and makes for exciting racing for athletes and spectators alike.

Skiing in heavy snow, Nishikawa started 15 seconds behind Goldsack and quickly caught up to him, then battled for the lead throughout the 15 kilometre race segment. However, Goldsack took the tape in a sprint finish.

In the Junior Female category, Dahria Beatty held on to take the bronze medal for the series, with Maya MacIsaac-Jones, also of the Rocky Mountain Racers, taking the gold, just under a minute ahead of Beatty.

Almost 450 skiers competed at the Westerns, making this year's edition one of the best attended ever.

Nishikawa is on a good run heading into the 2011 Canada Winter Games in Halifax, N.S.

At the end of January, he and fellow Team Yukon skiers David Greer and Knute Johnsgaard competed in Haywood NorAm races in Orford, Que., where Nishikawa took the overall title by a whopping 2:38. Meanwhile, Greer pulled off a similar feat, taking gold almost a minute ahead of his nearest rival.