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Tag: Evan Girard

  • Best of Canadian Nationals: Photos and Quotes

    Best of Canadian Nationals: Photos and Quotes

    A happy spectator at 2015 Canadian Ski Nationals at Lappe Nordic in Thunder Bay, Ontario. (All photos: Martin Kaiser)
    A happy spectator at 2015 Canadian Ski Nationals at Lappe Nordic in Thunder Bay, Ontario. (All photos: Martin Kaiser)

    Canadian Ski Nationals in Thunder Bay, Ontario, capped off the 2014/2015 domestic season in Canada from March 14-21. Here are some of our favorite photos and athlete comments from the weeklong series at the Lappe Nordic Centre, courtesy of Martin Kaiser. (Quotes collected via email by Gerry Furseth and François Léger Dionne.)

    Recaps: Open freestyle team sprints | Senior 5/10 k skate, 10/15 k classic & classic sprints | Senior 30/50 k freestyle mass starts

    On highlights:

    “I was really happy to get my first senior national title in the 5km free. I didn’t get any splits until 4k so I didn’t know how it was going results wise but I was pushing as hard as I could and made sure to race the first portion that was flatter like a sprint prologue so I wouldn’t give up too much time before the climbing. … There have been lots of great moments this week but I have to say my favourite was when Peri [Jones] came over to me at the end of the 5k free and told me that I had won. ” — Dahria Beatty (AWCA/NST-U23), who beat World Cup veteran Perianne Jones by 3.7 seconds in the women’s 5 k skate

    “One of my favourite moments was when [teammate] Peri [Jones] came across the finish line in second in the team sprint. It was an amazing feeling to have won a medal with someone who has been a[n] inspiration for me for a very long time.” — Katherine Stewart-Jones (Nakkertok/NST-Junior Team), 2nd in the freestyle team sprint with Perianne Jones

    “I think my favorite moment was seeing all my friends again after a long time being gone in Europe for racing. Seeing faces I know everywhere and talking to people I know was really nice. And I also really enjoyed hearing my name when people were cheering during races. Being back home, this feeling is just great!” — Cendrine Browne (CNEPH/NST-U23), 3rd in 10 k classic and 30 k freestyle mass start

     

    On exceeding goals:

    “My focus events were the skate races.  The team sprint, 10km and 50km.  I can’t believe I was able to win gold in all three.” — Michael Somppi (AWCA/NST-Dev.), 1st place in the freestyle team sprint, 10 k freestyle and 50 k freestyle mass start at 2015 Canadian Nationals

     

    On beating World Cup veteran Ivan Babikov in the 50 k freestyle mass start:

    “When we neared the final kms it was apparent Ivan’s legs were cramping up and as we crested over the 2nd last big climb I noticed I had a small gap on him.  So I just blasted with everything I had left and opened up a good margin to the finish line … It was just an amazing feeling coming into the finish with the home crowd cheering me on.  Maybe that’s what helped me feel so good … and really, this whole week.” — Somppi

     

    On overcoming adversity:

    “In the qualifier I broke a binding on the last hill so I had to stop and put it back on, which took about a minute and a half. Luckily, there were only 28 girls in the race so I qualified anyway with bib number 28. I was pretty rattled after breaking a binding but I managed to calm down and focus on the heats. I knew that before I had broken the binding my race had been going well so I was confident that I could ski well in the heats. Because of my low bib number, I was put in the hardest quarter-final and in the hardest semi-final and was lucky looser in both of the races, At that point, I was pretty relieved to have made the final. Overall I am happy with my fourth place because I skied as hard as I could and I am happy with how I skied.” — K. Stewart-Jones, 4th in junior women’s classic sprint

     

    On a long season:

    “[It] feels like travel and all 180km of racing that I’ve done in the past 4 weeks finally [caught] up to me.” — Ivan Babikov (Canadian World Cup Team)

    “I’m skiing as fast as I can and with all the energy that I have left.” — Browne, 3rd in 10 k classic

    “Considering my lead-up to Nationals wasn’t ideal, with racing in Lahti the weekend beforehand and traveling back to Canada on Monday, I’m happy with the consistency of my performances.” — Somppi

  • Smith, Crawford Win Opening Sprints of Canadian World Cup/IBU Cup Trials in Canmore (Updated)

    Smith, Crawford Win Opening Sprints of Canadian World Cup/IBU Cup Trials in Canmore (Updated)

    Rosanna Crawford racing to the win in Monday's distance race at Frozen Thunder in Canmore, Alberta. (Photo: Noel Rogers/Bow Valley Photography)
    Rosanna Crawford racing to the win in the cross-country distance race on Oct. 27 at Frozen Thunder in Canmore, Alberta. She win on to win her second-consecutive race at Frozen Thunder on Thursday with a victory in the 7.5 k sprint at Canada’s IBU World Cup/IBU Cup trials. (Photo: Noel Rogers/Bow Valley Photography)

    Day one of the Canadian World Cup and IBU Cup selections races took place at the Canmore Nordic Center on Thursday. The sprint race format consisted of three laps of the 3.4-kilometer Frozen Thunder loop for men, and three laps of the 2.4 k track for the women.

    Cold temperatures dropping well below -20 degrees Celsius (-4 Fahrenheit) made the tracks hard packed and squirrelly for racers. The 10.2 k men’s race started at noon due to the cool morning with women’s 7.2 k following 45 minutes later.

    In the men’s race, Biathlon Canada’s Nathan Smith claimed the first victory of the season, clocking in at 26:57 minutes. Despite two misses in his last bout of shooting, Smith maintained strong ski speed to land on top of the podium. Marc-Andre Bedard of Team Quebec was just 12 seconds with perfect shooting for second. Macx Davies (Biathlon Canada) rounded out the top three another 25 seconds back, with three penalties.

    “Wasn’t looking for anything else than give my best and have fun!” tweeted Bedard after the race. The former Olympian has been focusing on obstacle racing for much of the year.

    The women’s race saw national-team veteran Rosanna Crawford take the win, with just one miss and the fastest time of 23:35. Emma Lunder, a new member to Biathlon Canada and the Biathlon Alberta Training Center, also had one miss and fought to stay with Crawford on her final lap for second overall, 1:08 back. Audrey Vaillancourt, another national-team member as well as an Open European Championship winner, finished in third, 9 seconds behind Lunder, with two penalties.

    “Chilly morning for our first of two races up at the Nordic Center, happy to hit 9/10 when it’s hard to feel your fingers!” Crawford posted on her facebook fan page.

    Racing continues Friday with another set of sprints. Crawford, Smith and Brendan Green prequalified for World Cups 1, 2 and 3, and Scott Gow prequalified for IBU Cups 2 and 3 (although he’s aiming for a World Cup spot instead).

    In all, Canada has eight male and eight female quota spots, with four from each gender being tapped for the World Cup and four selected to the IBU Cup after trials. Qualifiers are expected to have shot at least 80 percent in two races this year, and come within 90 percent of the average of the podium finishers’ times at trials. The high-performance committee will review all results and select the team based on results and consistency, with a major focus on trials but also including other considerations as well.

    For more on selection criteria, click here.

    Thursday’s results

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    About the author: Evan Brian Paul Girard is a student, an athlete and an adventurer. He grew up in a small town in Saskatchewan called Oxbow with a population of about 1,200. Biathlon Saskatchewan’s provincial coach Doug Sylvester introduced him to the sport at age 17. Having never cross-country skied or shot a target rifle, Girard was nearly a decade of training behind his fellow competitors, and he spent the next two years training with Biathlon Saskatchewan. In the spring of 2013, he was accepted as a member of the high-performance team, Rocky Mountain Racers, based out of the Bow Valley in Canmore. In December 2013, he competed for Canada for the first time as a biathlete at the Winter Univerisade in Trentino, Italy.