Salmon Arm’s Alysson Marshall was the top North American woman in the classic sprints, taking 12th place overall at the Under-23 Cross-Country Skiing World Championships in Oetepaa, Estonia. She was competing with the top U23s from 20 countries.
Marshall held her own with the world’s best but came out on the short end of a one-track dogfight down the finish of the 1.2-kilometre women’s course. Her semifinal was incredibly fast with the six athletes placing within 1.3 seconds of each other. She attempted to pass the train of skiers three times but was stymied by drifting snow and slow lanes which forced her back into sixth. It was a disappointment as her semifinal time was faster than the winner of the other semifinal by six seconds. There was no B-final so positions seven to 12 were assigned according to time-trial times.
Marshall’s next event is the Canada Winter Games.
Universiade
At the 25th Winter Universiade held in Erzurum, Turkey on Jan. 28, Larch Hills skier Jesse Heckrodt was the top Canadian in the men’s 10-metre classic, finishing 33rd with a time of 28:47.7.
Connor wins
Local skiers made an impact at the Silver Star Loppet Jan. 23, which attracted 117 nordic athletes. The men’s 10-km skate saw John Connor of Salmon Arm win in 29:33, followed by teammates Kyle Flatman (29:59) and Thomas Hardy (31:04).
Donna Flatman claimed the women’s 10-km classic in 55:38.
