Local Sports

No sleep? No problem. That was cross-country skier Dasha Gaiazova’s mantra heading into her second race of the week at the Haywood Ski Nationals.

In Whistler, cross-country skiing is a summer sport. Temperatures soar to 18 degrees, tank tops and shorts are the norm, trail crews salt the snow while biathletes and retiring skiers win the Haywood Ski National crowns.

Speed merchants Jesse Cockney and Brent McMurtry conquered big climbs and dodged spectacular crashes to kick off the 2013 cross-country Haywood Ski Nationals at Whistler Olympic Park in controversial fashion, Saturday (March 23).

Heidi Widmer continued her dominance of the domestic racing scene, partnering up with Marlis Kromm to win the women’s team sprint in convincing fashion on Saturday (March 23) at Whistler Olympic Park to open the cross-country Haywood Ski Nationals.

Cross-country skier Brian McKeever has had a lot of career firsts in Whistler. In 2010, he was the first blind athlete to be named to Canada’s Olympic and Paralympic teams in the same year.

Provincial budget cuts mean some Alberta Olympic hopefuls will receive less money from the provincial government this year, while developing amateur athletes will likely have to pay more.

After years of pouring his guts out on Canadian ski slopes, Paul Stutz finally earned the glory.

Simply unbeatable. Undefeated through 2013, Brian McKeever and Erik Carleton were unstoppable again on Monday (March 18) as they captured their second gold medal at the IPC World Cup finals in Sochi, Russia.

Chasing the frozen ghosts of 2010, three Canadian national team cross-country skiers will return to the scene of their Olympic dreams next week, bent on inspiring another generation of Nordic athletes.

Despite winning a bronze medal and earning two fourth-place finishes, Canadian national cross-country ski coach Justin Wadsworth said the team wanted more at the Nordic Ski world championships in Val Di Fiemme, Italy.