Katherine Stewart-Jones and Marlis Kromm led the Canadian contingent on the first two days of racing at the World Junior and Under 23 cross-country ski racing championships in Liberec, Czech Republic.
Stewart-Jones finished 25th in the 1.3 kilometre classic sprint after surprising the field and earning one of the top 30 qualifying spots on Tuesday (Jan. 22). The games were the first for the racer from Chelsea, Que., and an appearance in the quarter-finals was beyond her expectations.
“This was my first international race so I was not expecting to do this well at all,” said Stewart-Jones. “My goal was to qualify, and my strategy for the heats was to ski even better and I did that today.”
On the following day, her brother Patrick Stewart-Jones was the fastest Canadian U23 male, finishing 39th. The Canadian men’s team is struggling with illness after a flu hit the team just before the competition.
Rocky Mountain Racers athlete Maya MacIsaac-Jones was the second fastest Canadian, finishing 36th. Frederique Vezina was 41st and Cendrine Brown was 42nd.
At the U23 competition, Kromm narrowly missed qualifying in the top 30, finishing 32nd in the 1.3 km classic sprint on Tuesday (Jan. 22). She finished just ahead of Heidi Widmer, who was 34th. Andrea Lee was 47th.
Alexis Turgeon was the top Canadian junior male, finishing 30th.
“My skis were good in the heats and I had a good start, but I couldn’t find a spot on the last uphill to go,” Turgeon said. “I thought I could get a ride with the Norweigan, but he switched lanes and I was on my own. I expected a lot more from myself today,” Turgeon said.
Other top Canadian finishers included Ezekial Williams (46th), Raphael Couturier (51st) and Scott James Hill (58th).
In other cross-country ski news, Dasha Gaiazova finished 27th in the 10 km mass start classic race on Friday (Jan. 19) in La Clusaz, France. The result was a personal best for Gaiazova in a mass start.
“I’m pretty happy with a new mass start personal best today in La Clusaz. My skis were fantastic,” Gaiazova said.
Perianne Jones was 38th and Chandra Crawford did not finish the race.
The men’s team struggled with wax and finished well back in the 15 km race.
Ivan Babikov and Alex Harvey skied with the top pack for two-thirds of the race, but faded to finish 39th and 42nd respectively. Len Valjas was 50th. Devon Kershaw did not race after falling ill with suspected food poisoning.
