From the FasterSkier archive — posts syndicated from athletes’ and coaches’ own blogs between 2004 and 2012, kept online as published. Current coverage is at fasterskier.com.
Canada’s mixed relay after taking silver on the last day of the 2018 Paralympics in PyeongChang, South Korea, with (from left to right) Natalie Wilkie, Chris Klebl, Mark Arendz and Emily Young. (Photo: Dave Holland/Canadian Paralympic Committee)
2018 Winter Paralympics (PyeongChang, South Korea): Mixed and open relays
On the final day of the PyeongChang Paralympic Games, Canada was the only country to medal in both the mixed and open cross-country relays, and its mixed relay anchor, Mark Arendz, became the most decorated Canadian at a single Winter Paralympics with his sixth medal of the week.
In the 4 x 2.5-kilometer mixed relay on Sunday, Natalie Wilkie, Emily Young, Chris Klebl, and Arendz teamed up for silver, 50 seconds behind Ukraine (Iurii Utkin, Liudmyla Liashenko, Yuliia Batenkova-Bauman, and Oksana Shyshkova), which claimed gold in 24:31.9 minutes. On the final skate leg, Arendz held off Germany (Andrea Eskau, Steffen Lehmker and Alexander Ehler) by 3.4 seconds at the line.
Wilkie and Young, standing athletes coming off gold and bronze in Saturday’s 7.5 k cross-country race, started the team off for the first two classic legs. Wilkie, 17, also earned an individual bronze at these Games. While Wilkie tagged Young in fifth, Young went on to tag Klebl, a 2014 Paralympic champion sit-skier, in seventh place.
“Our team worked so well together,” Young said of the relay, according to a Cross Country Canada press release. “It looked a little scary in the beginning, but we knew we had Chris in third and Mark anchoring which was going to be the difference. We each held our own in our individual sections and it is so fun to win this one as a team.”
Klebl, 46, made up 27 seconds on the field and tagged Arendz in fourth. Arendz then caught and passed Japan’s Taiki Kawayoke and later Germany’s Ehler on the last downhill into the finishing stretch to finish second.
“This is fantastic. It is our first relay medal ever,” Arendz, 28, told Cross Country Canada. “It is great to end the Games with a historic moment that we get to share with each other for the rest of our lives. This is a great team of two veterans and two rookies. I’m so happy we were able to get this done.”
Arendz, who elected flag bearer of the Canadian Paralympic Team for Sunday’s Closing Ceremony, is taking home a gold medal from the 15 k biathlon race, two silvers, and three bronze medals. He competed in all but one race throughout the week, skipping the distance cross-country race.
“I came in here thinking I could get three medals, but to get six is incredible,” Arendz said. “Today’s is a special one. I am happy we got this done, but there is no way I could do another race. I’m done.”
American Kendall Gretsch (l) racing in the 4 x 2.5 k open relay at the 2018 Paralympic Winter Games in PyeongChang, South Korea. (Photo: U.S. Paralympics/Mark Reis)
The U.S. team, with Kendall Gretsch, Ruslan Reiter, Jake Adicoff (and guide Sawyer Kesselheim) placed seventh in the mixed relay, 1:35.7 out of first. Gretsch skied both the first and third legs and tagged Adicoff in ninth out of 13 teams at the last exchange.
“It’s a little bit nerve-wracking and a little bit fun,” Adicoff said of skiing the anchor leg. “They did an awesome job on the first three legs.”
In the 4 x 2.5 k open relay an hour later, Canada raced to bronze with two athletes: sit-skier Collin Cameron and visually impaired skier Brian McKeever (and his guides Graham Nishikawa and Russell Kennedy).
The duo finished 1:05.8 behind France, which placed first with Benjamin Daviet, Anthony Chalencon and Thomas Clarion in 22:46.6. Norway finished 22.5 seconds back for silver, with Nils-Erik Ulset, Hakon Olsrud and Eirik Bye.
Ukraine (Iaroslav Reshetynskyi, Olha Prylutska, Grygorii Vovchynskyi, and Anatolii Kovalevskyi) crossed the line in third but was penalized 30 seconds for an early exchange and slipped to fifth (+1:26.3), while Canada moved into third and Belarus placed fourth (+1:23.7).
Canada’s open relay after taking bronze on the last day of the 2018 Paralympics in PyeongChang, South Korea, with (from left to right) Graham Nishikawa (guide), Collin Cameron, Russell Kennedy (guide), and Brian McKeever. (Photo: Dave Holland/Canadian Paralympic Committee)
Early in the race, Cameron tagged McKeever in eighth at the first exchange, and McKeever and his guide raced up to fourth. On the third leg, Cameron was skiing in third until he dropped a pole on the last climb and had to turn around to recover it. He came through the last exchange in sixth, 25 seconds behind Ukraine in third. McKeever went on to crossed the finish line fourth place, but his team was awarded bronze after Ukraine was penalized for tagging outside the exchange zone.
The bronze medal was Cameron’s third of the week after he placed third in two biathlon races earlier in the week. For McKeever, Canada’s most decorated Winter Paralympian of all time who won all three individual cross-country races he competed in over the last week, it was the 17th medal of his Paralympic career.
“I just tried to pace it properly and be as fast as I could. It was so much fun,” Cameron, 28, told Cross Country Canada. “This is my first relay, so I was really looking forward to this. I am super happy to leave here with three medals.”
“It’s incredible to get two relay medals today,” McKeever, 38, said. “We knew we had a shot if we all had really good days. What Mark, Chris and the girls did in that first relay was awesome. These races are so interesting with all different disabilities together. It is never over until last tour around, and in both cases, we saw that today with lots of different lead changes out there.”
The U.S. open relay at the 2018 Paralympics in PyeongChang, South Korea, with (from left to right) Andy Soule, Grace Miller, and Mia Zutter, Kristina Trygstad-Saari (guide), and Sean Halsted. (Photo: U.S. Paralympics/Mark Reis)
The U.S. team, with Andy Soule, Sean Halsted, Grace Miller, and Mia Zutter (and guide Kristina Trygstad-Saari), placed 12th in the open relay out of 12 teams.
“It’s been an amazing Paralympic Games,” Soule, 38, told U.S. Paralympics Nordic. “The organizers have put on a great event. This is a great team to be involved with. We’ve had a lot of fun here. This is my last Paralympic race, but we have a couple of young athletes here. We’ll have a great team for a long time.”
In total, both the Canadian and U.S. Paralympic teams tallied 16 medals between nordic and biathlon in PyeongChang — a record for both programs. Notably, every member of Canada’s Para-Nordic World Cup Team is taking home at least one medal.
Canada’s 2018 Paralypmic cross-country and biathlon team at the Alpensia Biathlon Centre on the last day of the Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea. (Photo: Dave Holland/Canadian Paralympic Committee)
Canada’s Mark Arendez gets a congratulatory hug after he won gold in the men’s 15 k standing biathlon individual race on Friday at the 2018 Paralympics in PyeongChang, South Korea. (Photo: Scott Grant/Canadian Paralympic Committee)
2018 Winter Paralympics (PyeongChang, South Korea): 12.5/15 k biathlon races
Mark Arendez lets out his trademark roar as he crosses the finish line of the men’s 15 k standing biathlon individual on Friday at the 2018 Paralympics in PyeongChang, South Korea. He won for his first Paralympic gold and sixth-career Paralympic medal. (Photo: Scott Grant/Canadian Paralympic Committee)
Canada’s Mark Arendz captured his first Paralympic gold, the sixth Paralympic medal of his career and his fourth medal of the PyeongChang Games on Friday in the men’s 15-kilometer individual standing biathlon race — the longest and final biathlon event on the schedule.
Meanwhile, Dan Cnossen of the U.S. continued his medal streak with his fifth medal in as many races, taking silver in the men’s 15 k sitting biathlon. His teammate Oksana Masters raced to silver for her fourth medal of the 2018 Games in the women’s 12.5 k sitting biathlon, and two Canadians earned bronze with Collin Cameron placing third in the men’s 15 k sitting and Brittany Hudak taking her first Paralympic medal in the women’s 12.5 k sitting.
Arendz, 28, who placed second and third in two biathlon races at the 2014 Paralympics and once again finished second and third in two previous biathlon events at these Games, cleaned all four shooting stages to secure the win in 42:52.2 minutes. France’s Benjamin Daviet took silver, 58.3 second back, after missing one target (0+0+1+0) and having a minute penalty added to his time. Norway’s Nils-Erik Ulset shot clean for bronze, 1:14.5 behind Arendz.
“Every time I stepped on the podium this week, I kept thinking I want to hear ‘Paralympic Champion’ and then my name announced,” Arendz told Cross Country Canada, according to a press release. “I wanted nothing more than to hear my country’s anthem played. I’ve seen the maple leaf on top of the podium three times this week, but to finally have it behind the top step of the podium for me is an amazing feeling.”
“I wanted to be consistent and focus on the process all week. This race was my strength,” he said. “It is a shooting race and you have to go clean. The process was key today, and I just tried to make sure I hit those 20 targets. Once I got to that last bout I wasn’t going to miss, so I made sure of every shot before I pulled the trigger. In the end I was clean, the skiing was strong, and that is what I wanted.
“That completes the [medal] set for biathlon, and my first gold which means everything to me,” Arendz said of the last biathlon race of the 2018 Games.
Also in that men’s standing individual race, American Ruslan Reiter placed 15th with nine penalties.
Silver for Cnossen, Masters; Second Bronze for Cameron
American Dan Cnossen racing to second in the men’s 15 k sitting biathlon individual at the 2018 Paralympics in PyeongChang, South Korea. (Photo: U.S. Paralympics/ Maddie Meyer-Getty Images)
In the men’s sitting biathlon event on Friday, Cnossen and Cameron raced to second (+45.5) and third (+1:01.9), respectively, behind Germany’s Martin Fleig in first. Fleig shot clean and finished in 49:57.2, while Cnossen missed one in the last stage (0+0+0+1) and Cameron had a single miss in the second shooting (0+1+0+0). The silver was Cnossen’s third of these Paralympics, and he medaled in every biathlon race in PyeongChang (taking gold in the 7.5 k and silver in the 12.5 k).
“This is special because, for one, the conditions were so difficult,” Cnossen explained in an interview with U.S. Paralympics Nordic. “It’s snowing, it’s cold. It’s 30-40 degrees colder than yesterday. I’m getting a little bit tired. I had a bit of a mental battle this morning waking up. I was considering pulling out of the race because I really want to be fresh for tomorrow, so to overcome that and still put up a really solid performance is really quite good. I wish I could have cleaned that last stage – I missed one shot. Then I just really tried to hammer on that last lap.”
While the biathlon races are over, Saturday holds middle-distance cross-country races in PyeongChang.
“I have an excerpt that says it doesn’t matter how you feel today, it doesn’t matter what your background is or where you’re coming from, all that matters is what you can do,” said Cnossen, a 37-year-old retired Navy SEAL who was awarded a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star with Valor from the Secretary of the Navy for his service in combat.
“I just tried to focus on what I could do today,” he continued. “Not the fact that I didn’t sleep well last night, that doesn’t matter. Just go out there and perform like I know I can.”
“I have an excerpt that says it doesn’t matter how you feel today, it doesn’t matter what your background is or where you’re coming from, all that matters is what you can do.” — Dan Cnossen, U.S. Paralympian and former Navy SEAL, after racing to his fifth medal of the 2018 Paralympics
Collin Cameron racing to his second bronze of the 2018 Paralympics on Friday in the men’s 15 k sitting biathlon individual in PyeongChang, South Korea. (Photo: Scott Grant/Canadian Paralympic Committee)
Cameron, 29, achieved his second bronze medal of the Games after placing third in the biathlon sprint then coming close in fourth in Wednesday’s cross-country sprint.
“This is awesome. This one is the sweetest one for sure,” Cameron said, according to a team press release. “That was a little redemption after the sprint day because I really wanted that one.
“I got very little sleep last night. I just couldn’t seem to settle,” he continued. “My coach told me some of the best athlete performances have happened after a bad night of sleep. I told myself to just settle down. I got the bugs out in that first lap, focused on pacing in every lap and just kept pushing.
“I came here wanting to get on the podium in cross country, and I’m going home with two biathlon medals. I didn’t expect that at all,” Cameron added.
Also in that men’s sitting biathlon race, Aaron Pike placed sixth with perfect shooting and Andy Soule finished ninth with four penalties (0+0+4+0).
In the women’s sitting biathlon individual, both Masters and Germany’s Andrea Eskau shot clean, but Eskau completed the course faster to claim gold in 49:41.2. Masters finished 18.8 seconds back for silver, her second biathlon medal of the Games, and Lidziya Hrafeyava of Belarus finished third (+1:15.8) with one penalty (0+1+0+0).
American Oksana Masters celebrates as she finishes second in the women’s 12.5 k sitting biathlon individual race on Friday at the 2018 Paralympics in PyeongChang, South Korea. (Photo: U.S. Paralympics/Simon Bruty-OIS/IOC)
“I went from getting a sunburn a couple days ago during the sprints to freezing right now,” Masters, 28, said of Friday’s conditions to U.S. Paralympics. “The skiing is great, our skis are amazing, the team is amazing putting together some fast skis. I’m so happy I got a chance to redeem myself from the last biathlon race I didn’t get to finish.”
Masters did not finish the women’s 10 k biathlon race earlier in the week. She has been racing with an elbow injury throughout the Games.
“The way I looked at it, I wasn’t going to get defeated by this elbow,” she said. “I definitely know I wasn’t skiing at 100 percent, but I wanted to see where I was. I’ve trained four years, the day after Sochi ended. I counted the days, it was like 1,461 days – not that I’m counting – but I was not going to let that basically take away from my Games experience here.”
As for hitting all 20 targets on Friday, Masters said she was in the zone.
“I just focused on that ‘breathe, exhale, pause, squeeze,’ which is everything I’ve been training and practicing,” she said. “I couldn’t believe it. I almost fell going around the corner telling my coach ‘I cleaned!’ I can’t believe it.”
In three biathlon races in PyeongChang, the U.S. team tallied seven medals. Going into these Games, the U.S. had one biathlon medal (Soule’s bronze from 2010) in the history of the Paralympics and Olympics.
In the women’s 12.5 k standing biathlon race, Hudak notched her first Paralympic medal and Canada’s first in a women’s standing biathlon event in third place, 2:23.9 behind Anna Milenina of the Neutral Paralympic Athletes (NPA) in first and 1:20.1 behind Ekaterina Rumyantseva (NPA) in second. While Milenina overcame two minutes of penalties (0+1+0+1) to take gold in 38:56.8 and Rumyantseva had two misses as well (0+2+0+0), Hudak shot clean.
Brittany Hudak hugging her teammate Emily Young after Hudak placed third for her first Paralympic medal on Friday in the women’s 12.5 k standing biathlon individual in PyeongChang, South Korea. (Photo: Scott Grant/Canadian Paralympic Committee)
“This is such an unreal day. There are so many emotions,” Hudak said, according to the team press release. “I just tried to think about the process throughout the race. I wanted to focus on shooting because I knew it was going to make a difference today.”
As she left the range in fourth after her last shooting stage, Hudak got a lift from her teammate Emily Young, who pushed to catch her and pull her around the final loop. Together, they clawed back five seconds and Hudak finished third, 3.7 seconds ahead of Ukraine’s Iryna Bui in fourth.
“I’m just so lost for words. It is so incredible,” Hudak, 24, said. “I knew I was in the medal mix heading into that last lap. Everyone was screaming at me to keep going. Emily kept yelling at me the whole way around, and I just tried to hang onto her. I was breathing so hard and gave it everything I had. I was so tired at the finish and wanted to collapse.”
Young finished the race in seventh with two penalties (1+0+1+0).
“I was hearing the splits around the course, and I knew after my second round of shooting I was out of the top four and there was a big gap,” Young, 27, reflected. “I just chased Britt down on the course, and once I caught her, started screaming at her to follow me and not get dropped. I was breaking the wind for her the whole way. I was pretty tired on that last lap, but just kept skiing hard and screaming at her to follow. I don’t know where I found the energy.
“She did awesome. Britt is my right-arm girl,” Young added. “I’m so proud of her. We both work so hard and I know how many hours she put into this. I’m just as excited for her as I would be for myself.”
The Paralympics enter their final weekend with middle-distance cross-country races on Saturday, starting at 10 a.m. Korea time (9 p.m. EDT on Friday), and conclude with mixed and open relays on Sunday.
Canada’s Mark Arendz with his first Paralympic gold medal after winning the men’s 15 k standing individual biathlon race on Friday at the 2018 Paralympics in PyeongChang, South Korea. (Photo: Dave Holland/Canadian Paralympic Committee)
American Oksana Masters (c) after winning her second-straight cross-country race of 2017 IPC World Championships on Thursday in Finsterau, Germany. She is joined on the podium by Norway’s Birgit Skarstein (l) in second and Germany’s Andrea Eskau in third. (Photo: U.S. Paralympics)
After a rest day, Paralympic athletes returned to the nordic venue in Finsterau, Germany, for Days 3, 4, and 5 of the 2017 International Paralympic Committee (IPC) World Nordic Skiing Championships. Long-distance biathlon races took place Tuesday, cross-country relays on Wednesday and individual cross-country races on Thursday.
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At the finish of Tuesday’s 15-kilometer individual biathlon race, Canada’s Mark Arendz could only think about one thing: his miss. But later, with his second 2017 World Championships medal, this one silver, around his neck after finishing in 39:21.9 minutes, the miss in his final stage (0+0+0+1) was no longer on his mind.
Left to right: Canada’s Mark Arendz, France’s Benjamin Daviet and Norway’s Nils-Erik Ulset on the podium for the men’s 15 k biathlon standing event held on Tuesday, Feb. 14 at the 2017 IPC World Nordic Skiing Championships in Finsterau, Germany. (Photo: Robin McKeever/Twitter)
“After crossing the finish line, all I could initially think about was the single miss (in shooting), and the fact I let the gold slip through my fingers,” Arendz said, according to a Canadian Para-Nordic Skiing press release. “But I quickly warmed up to the fact that I had won a World Championship silver medal.”
Finishing ahead of Arendz for first place was France’s Benjamin Daviet who also shot 19-for-20 and covered the course in time of 38:33.7.
“I am very happy and honoured. This is great and what I came here for,” Daviet said according to an IPC press release. “I will not celebrate because there are many races ahead. I hope to win more medals in Finsterau.”
Norwegian Nils Erik Ulset claimed the final podium spot, finishing third in a time of 40:26.7 after two penalties (1+0+1+0).
In the women’s 12.5 k standing biathlon event, Ukraine’s Liudmyla Liashenko came away with the win. She missed just one shot (1+0+0+0) and finished in a time of 39:10.0.
“I am really happy. I want to dedicate this triumph to all my family, friends and all who have supported me all along this journey,” Liashenko said according to an IPC press release.
In her first podium appearance, Japan’s Momoko Dekijima claimed second in 42:49.3 after two misses (1+1+0+0). Third place went to Ukraine’s Iryna Bui, who finished in 43:53.1 with three penalties (0+2+0+1).
Canada’s Brittany Hudak raced to fifth with a single miss (0+1+0+0), finishing in 44:14.9.
Racking up another gold medal on his home turf, Germany’s Martin Fleig took the win in the men’s 15 k sitting biathlon race in 44:39.4 with one miss (0+0+1+0).
“I did not expect this,” Fleig said according to an IPC press release. “I had a good feeling in the morning but could not imagine the race would be so perfect. It is unbelievable that now I am a two-time world champion. It is awesome.”
Earning silver behind Fleig was Taras Rad of Ukraine, who had four penalties (2+1+0+1) and finished in 48:01.3. Trygve Steinar Larsen of Norway earned bronze, finishing in 49:07.9 with three penalties (2+0+0+1).
Just missing the podium with a career-best fourth was American Aaron Pike, who finished in 51:10.2 with five penalties (1+0+1+3). Canada’s Derek Zaplotinsky placed just behind Pike in fifth for his personal best, finishing in 53:28.1 with four misses as well (0+1+2+1).
Behind them, American Andy Soule finished in seventh in 54:26.7 with nine penalties (2+2+2+3).
Right to left: American Oksana Masters, Germany’s Anja Wicker and Ukraine’s Lidziya Hrafeyeva on top of the podium for the women’s 12.5 k sitting biathlon event on Tuesday at the 2017 IPC World Nordic Skiing Championships in Finsterau, Germany. (Photo: Oksana Masters/Twitter)
Germany earned another victory at home in the women’s 12.5 k sitting biathlon event, with Anja Wicker returning to the podium, this time in first place.
“I am super happy, my biggest dream came true. I was hoping this would happen, it was a perfect day for me,” Wicker said according to an IPC press release. “Whilst I was still competing, I heard that Martin [Fleig] had already won gold and that motivated me to do the same.”
Wicker finished in 43:07.3 with one miss (0+0+1+0). Behind her in second place was Belarus’s Lidziya Hrafeyeva, who finished in 46:05.2 after three penalties (0+2+1+0).
American Oksana Masters also returned to the podium for her first biathlon medal of the week, finishing in 46:43.7 with four misses (2+2+0+0).
Earning the gold medal in the men’s 15 k visually impaired biathlon race was Vasili Shaptsiaboi of Belarus, who finished in 40:47.3 with just one miss (0+0+0+1). Ukraine took the final two podium spots, with Anatolii Kovalevskyi earning silver in 41:55.2 and one miss (0+1+0+0) and his teammate Vitaliy Lukyanenko finishing just behind him for bronze in 42:21.2, also with one penalty (1+0+0+0).
Ukraine’s Oksana Shyshkova finally found her gold on Tuesday, winning the women’s visually impaired 12.5 k biathlon event after shooting clean and finishing in a time of 38:26.6.
“After winning two silvers in Finsterau, I am happy to finally take gold,” Shyshkova said according to an IPC press release. “Now I have to focus on the next events, do my job, give my best and the results will come as a consequence.”
Silver went to Germany’s Clara Klug in a time of 43:58.2 with two missed shots (0+0+0+2), while Ukraine’s Olga Prylutska earned bronze in a time of 45:16.0 after six misses (1+4+0+1).
Wednesday, the fourth day of racing at the 2017 IPC World Nordic Skiing Championships was marked by mixed and open relays. The U.S. did not field a team, as no standing American athletes are present at this competition series. Canada entered a team in the open relay event.
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Canada made history on Wednesday earning its first World Championships relay medal with Brian McKeever, Emily Young and Arendz.
McKeever, a visually impaired racer, started first. He tagged off to Young, a standing skier, and Arendz, also in the standing category, and back to McKeever. The quartet finished third in 24:53.4 just 57.5 seconds away from the win.
“It is pretty awesome to have such a great result today with the boys, and finally snag my first World Championship medal,” Young said, according to a team press release.
Young was one of the only women racing amidst the top teams.
“Being one of the only girls out there, it was tough to ski against the men’s field but I gave my best effort, and that was all I could do,” Young said, according to a CCC press release. “I just had to remember to ski my race, and know that I would likely fall behind a bit. I skied the fastest so far on this course. It was a very exciting race and I am very proud of the team.”
The win went to France in a time of 23:55.9, with standing skier Daviet leading the team, followed by visually impaired skier Anthony Chalencon, Daviet again and then standing skier, Thomas Clarion.
Norway took second place, 23.8 seconds behind France, with standing skier Ulset racing the first leg for the team, standing skier Hakon Olsrud taking the second leg, Ulset the third and visually impaired skier Eirik Bye anchoring the team.
In the mixed 4 x 2.5 k relay, it was Ukraine’s team comprised of visually impaired skier Iurii Utkin, who skied the first leg, followed by the three standing skiers Liashenko, Iuliia Batenkova, and Oleksandra Kononova. The Ukrainian team finished in a time of 26:56.5 for the win.
“This is a really good result, we made a huge effort to achieve this,” Ukrainian head coach Andriy Nesterenko said according to an IPC press release.
Sweden earned silver, with standing skier Helene Ripa and visually impaired skier Zebastian Modin racing for the team. The duo completed the event in a time of 27:17.5, just 21 seconds back from first place.
The final mixed relay podium spot went to Belarus, with sit skier Dzmitry Loban leading the first leg, followed by visually impaired racer Sviatlana Sakhanenka. Sit skier Valiantsina Shyts raced the third leg, and visually impaired skier Mikita Ladesau anchored the team to finish in a time of 28:12.3.
Canada’s Brian McKeever (third from r) with his guide Graham Nishikawa (third from left) after winning his second medal of 2017 IPC World Championships and 18th career World Championships gold on Feb. 16 in Finsterau, Germany. (Photo: Robin McKeever/Twitter)
Day 5
Just four days after she earned her first World Championships gold, Masters, of the U.S. Paralympics Nordic A-team, repeated the feat on Thursday, earning her second gold medal of the week.
Masters, 27, raced to first place in the women’s 12 k sitting cross-country event, finishing in 36:01.0. She outlasted Norway’s Birgit Skarstein, who finished second in 36:51.7, as well as Germany’s Andrea Eskau in third (37:00.0).
“I had some nerves going into the race today, but I used them to motivate me,” Masters said, according to a U.S. Paralympics press release. “I felt good and am really happy with how today went.”
In the men’s 15 k sitting cross-country event, Ukraine’s Maksym Yarovyi took the win, finishing in 40:32.4. Eui Hyun Sin of South Korea earned silver, finishing in 40:56.7, while Germany’s Fleig nabbed the the final podium spot in third (41:05.4).
Racing for the U.S., Soule narrowly missed the podium in fourth place, finishing in 41:36.4. Two Canada’s Collin Cameron placed seventh in 42:12.1 and Sebastien Fortier was 10th in 44:29.0.
Germany’s Carina Edlinger claimed gold in the women’s 15 k visually impaired event, ahead of Ukraine’s Shyshkova and Prylutska.Edlinger finished in a time of 55:40.1 for the win, Shyshkova in 57:11.9 and Prylutska in 1:00:01.8.
Racking up his 18th World Championships gold on Thursday was Canada’s 37-year-old McKeever, who won the men’s 20 k visually impaired race in 57:35.4.
“Graham skied really, really well today,” McKeever said of his guide, Graham Nishikawa, according to a team press release. “In fact he put me in an uncomfortable place for a large portion of the race, and I may have done the same for him in spots. There are different sections where we felt really good, and then others poorly. You are just comfortable with certain terrain, but it was really, really hot today and that just makes it tough to be relaxed when it is like that. It is a constant mental battle.”
Finishing behind McKeever in second was Sweden’s Modin in 1:00:24.6. Norway’s Bye claimed the final spot in third (1:00:58.8).
In the women’s 15 k standing cross-country race, Ukraine’s Kononova took the win, completing the course in a time of 51:56.9. Her Ukrainian teammate, Batenkovaearned silver, finishing in 53:38.1, while Liashenko rounded out the all-Ukranian podium in third (53:59.4).
Finishing just off the podium in fourth was Canada’s Young, after completing the course in 54:21.3. Behind her in fifth was her Canadian teammate Hudak, finishing in 55:53.9.
Ukraine earned another gold, this time on the men’s side, with Ihor Reptyukh taking first place in the men’s 20 k standing cross-country event. Reptyukh finished in 58:03.1, while Finland’s lkka Tuomisto placed just behind him in second (58:39.1). Third went to Yoshihiro Nitta (58:51.6).
Canada’s Arendz ended the day in fifth (59:34.4).
“The most exciting part for me is watching these young guys like Brittany and Emily killing it in classic, or watching Collin who has become a superstar over year in just his second year,” McKeever said in the press release. “I’m old has heck, but you see these development guys come in and all you can do is give them the toolbox to achieve success and show them the door, but they have to open it. These guys are and they are nailing it.”
Two days of racing remain for the 2017 IPC World Championships, with biathlon sprints on Saturday and middle-distance cross-country races on Sunday.
Kristina Smigun (in white and blue) passing the Czech Republic’s Katerina Neumannova on the way to gold at the 2006 Olympics. That medal may now be stripped, according to Norway’s TV2.
In an interview with Britain’s The Independent, Dick Pound warned that the revelations coming in the second part of his WADA Independent Commission report would shock the sports world.
“When we release this information to the world, there will be a wow factor,” Pound said. “I think people will say how on earth could this happen? It’s a complete betrayal of what the people in charge of the sport should be doing.”
Pound was referring to the investigation into the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), the international governing body for track and field. The Independent Commission looked at data from 15,000 blood samples which had been leaked by someone inside the organization.
Their findings led to criminal proceedings in France against the former IAAF President, Lamine Diack, and the suprises may not stop there.
He also suggests that other international federations take matters into their own hands because the problems are not limited to track and field athletes in Russia, but system-wide, and also not limited to Russia.
“This is the opportunity in certain executive committees to close their doors and say ‘as of today, the old system is gone, we’ll deal with those that need to be identified in due course but we’re going to level the playing field’,” he said. “I think the option is there but will it be taken? I don’t know. For some sports their actual credibility is at risk.”
Meanwhile, doping scandals in nordic sports continue to emerge in relation to past Winter Olympics.
Norway’s Nils Erik Ulset (right) with a Russian gold medalist at the 2014 Paralympic Games. (Photo: Matt Boulton / Wikimedia Commons)
On Monday, NRK ran an interview with Nils Erik Ulset, a Paralympic skier and biathlete who has medaled at four separate Olympics. In Sochi, the anti-doping procedure was unfamiliar, he said.
“I became gradually aware that foreign athletes were gathered into one room, and the Russians in another,” he told NRK. “I also noted that the Russian athletes only held for three to four minutes. It is not possible to conduct an inspection that quickly.”
When Ulset tried to enter the door the Russian athletes were going through, he was turned back.
The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has denied that there was anything irregular in antidoping in Sochi.
“All doping tests during the Winter Paralympics in Sochi were conducted according to the international standard for testing,” wrote Craig Spence, the communications director for the IPC, in an email to NRK. “Independent observers from WADA and members of the IPC Anti-Doping Committee were also present to supervise. They have not notified about anything worrying.”
That’s a similar line to the official International Olympic Committee response to calls for re-testing of samples from the 2014 Olympics, after the WADA Independent Commission revealed that the Russian state security apparatus FSB had infiltrated the Olympic anti-doping laboratory.
Despite those allegations, the IOC released a statement saying that “the IOC has no reason to question the credibility of the results of the anti-doping tests carried out at the Olympic Winter Games 2014.”
In this case, Spence told NRK that “the IPC is an organization deeply committed to protecting the clean athletes and provide equal competitive conditions for all.”
Yet, damningly, when NRK tried to follow up with other Norwegian Paralympic athletes, they found that few others had ever been tested in Sochi.
Scandals from even further in the past are also rearing their ugly heads.
Last year it was reported by Germany’s ARD news service that samples from the 2006 Olympics had been re-tested using new methods and Estonian cross-country skier Kristina Smigun’s samples had been contained prohibited substances.
Norway’s TV2 picked up the story this week, reporting that Smigun’s case has been mired in the Court of Arbitration for sport, but that she could soon be stripped of her gold medals from the 10 k classic and the 15 k skiathlon.
The Estonian Olympic Committee confirmed to TV2 that they had been notified in December 2013 of a positive test.
The International Ski Federation, WADA, the Estonian Ski Federation, and the Estonian Anti-Doping Association all told TV2 that the matter was in the hands of the IOC. The television report stated that both Smigun’s ‘A’ and ‘B’ samples had tested positive, yet there has been no news or action for almost two years.
The IOC said that they could not comment on the matter other than that many lawyers were involved, and that they hoped a verdict would be announced in three to six months.
But the Court of Arbitration for Sport denied that the case had been brought to them.
“As stated earlier, there is not, and has never been, a case concerning the IOC and Kristina Smigun and / or retesting of samples from the Turin Olympics in CAS system,” the organization wrote in an email to TV2.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport frequently lists upcoming hearings on their website, but cannot provide information until after cases are settled. Therefore, it is not altogether surprising that there is no information about a Smigun case on their website, whether one exists or not.
Norway stands to benefit, a lot, should Smigun’s medals be stripped. It would mean another gold medal for Marit Bjørgen, in the 10 k classic, and silver rather than bronze for Hilde Gjermundshaug Pedersen in the same race. And for Kristin Størmer Steira, recently retired, it would mean moving up from fourth place to bronze in both races – ending long-running painful jokes about wooden medals.
There’s no evidence so far that other re-tested samples from skiers at the 2006 Olympics resulted in new anti-doping cases.
Some are speaking out to urge action by international federations. U.S. Biathlon Association President and CEO Max Cobb spoke to FasterSkier soon after the first part of the Independent Commission’s report dropped, urging investigation into all sports.
Tore Bøygard, the head of the Norwegian biathlon federation, has now spoken out to NRK, one of the main Norwegian broadcasting companies.
“It is suggested that there is doping in other sports,” he said, according to a translation. “The sport cannot survive with some shadow ofdoping hanging around. Therefore, you might as well get it scrutinized. Should there be something left there, so you might as well get it up and get it on the table…. We should not be so naive.”
Bøygard has sent a letter to Anti-Doping Norway asking them to pressure WADA to initiate further investigations.
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![Kristina Smigun (in white and blue) on the way to gold at the 2006 Olympics. That medal may now be stripped, according to Norway's TV2.](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2009/10/smigun.jpg")
![Norway's Nils Erik Ulset (right) with a Russian gold medalist at the 2014 Paralympic Games. (Photo: Matt Boulton / Wikimedia Commons)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2015/11/320px-2010_Winter_Paralympics_Mens_Biathlon_pursuit_st_medalists.jpg")
![Kristina Smigun in 2007. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2015/11/Kristina_Šmigun_2007.jpg")