Cross country skiing has taken Kimberley’s Molly Miller many places during her career, which spans quite a few years despite the fact that she’s still a teenager.
This winter, Miller earned the right to race in the World Junior Championships in Lahti, Finland, the highest level of racing she has experienced.
She has just returned from Finland and has nothing but good things to say about the whole experience, calling it valuable and memorable.
“I was able to take part in a training camp in Sjusjøen, Norway with other members of Team Canada before heading to the races in Lahti, Finland. Skiing the trails in Lillehammer (the site of the 1994 Olympic Winter Games) was a lot of fun. Sjusjøen had some of the best snow in Europe while we were there which attracted many of the worlds top skiers, and Olympic medalists, so the Canadian juniors were thrilled to ski along side them! I picked up a lot of knowledge while I was at the camp and really enjoyed the training in Norway.
Racing at the World Junior Level is a whole new thing for Miller and she says she learned a great deal.
“Racing at this level was very new for me and I want to use the experience and knowledge I gained there to improve my future results at the international level.
We had a great team of coaches and wax technicians supporting our Canadian team. This provided us great race support and fast skies. Our head coach, Erik Bråten prepared us well, not only for the races at Lahti, but also for how to prepare for future races at an elite level. I was also very thankful to Fischer for giving me a new pair of skate skies. During ski testing they were the fastest so I was excited to get to use them in the 5k skate race. The venue in Lahti provided us a very exciting race experience. Getting to meet the fastest junior skiers in the world was very inspiring.
“I now have a whole new set of goals and aspirations for myself. One of my highlights was getting to race the relay for Canada’s U20 women’s team. Skiing is such an individual sport so getting to work together with your teammates and cheer for Team Canada rather than yourself is so much more fun!
Miller has many people to thank for her success thus far and her time in Finland.
“I am very grateful for the experience to represent Canada and know that many people back home made it possible for me to do this. My coach, Dave Wood supported me from afar. I received so many well wishes from family, friends and the ski community, which really means a lot when you are feeling the pressure of racing well. Knowing that my family was proud of me, no matter what the results were, really meant a lot. I want to thank the Mark Creek Lions Club for their $1000 financial sponsorship. I also would like to thank Selkirk Secondary School and my teachers for working with me to keep up my academics while I was away. I know that achieving my goals would not be possible without a village of people supporting me on my journey and I feel very blessed to be part of a really great village.”
The City of Kimberley also approved a grant of $500 this week through the Community Grants program to help with some of Miller’s expenses.
