Fighting a bad cold, Salmon Arm’s Alysson Marshall almost didn’t race in the 1.6-kilometre sprints in the opening race of the three-day Pursuit at the Eastern Canadian Championships at Nakkertoc Ski Area in Quebec.
At the last minute she entered the sprint qualifiers and surprised herself, coming in second by only 1.5 seconds behind first.
Marshall went on to win her quarterfinal, semifinal and easily won the finals – her first gold of the season.
Lacking endurance for the hills on the second day of competition, Marshall came in 13th in the individual 10-km skate and finished seventh overall on day 2 of the pursuit.
Starting with more than a one-minute handicap in Sunday’s 15-km classic race, Marshall finished fourth overall in the three-day pursuit.
A combination of travel, bad jetlag, lung injuries from racing in cold temperatures 100 kilometres north of the Arctic Circle and sickness, prevented Marshall from taking advantage of multiple World Cup starts in Europe, Quebec and Canmore.
After a rest and break for Christmas, Marshall returned to the NorAm circuit at the beginning of January in Thunder Bay, where she came in second by .16 seconds in the sprints in a photofinish.
A second sprint race at Highland Nordic in Ontario earned her a bronze medal after she was blocked in the final sprint to the finish.
Unable to get a win in either of the two sprint events that were qualifiers for World Championships in Italy, Marshall did not make the team this year.
After a two-week break from competition, Alysson returns to NorAms with the Western Canadians in Grande Prairie, Alta. followed by Nationals at Callaghan in March.
