Cross Country Canada – Young Canuck looks to build on strong finish at World Champs

 

SEEFELD, Aut.—Canada’s Katherine Stewart-Jones skied into the elite group of 30 for the first time of her career against the top Nordic skiers on the planet at the World Championships in Seefeld, Austria on Saturday.

“I’m super stoked to get my first top-30 finish and surprised to get it in the 30-kilometre skate,” said Stewart-Jones.

The 23-year-old clocked a time of 1:22:44.1 in the cross-country ski marathon, marking the end of women’s racing at the 2019 World Champs.

“My strategy was just to try and stay in a pack from the start because I knew it would be really hard to ski alone,” added Stewart-Jones. “I ended up drifting back during the race, but when I switched skis at 18.75 kilometres I felt a lot more relaxed and was able to gain back some positions.”

Skiing as high as 23rd spot in her first of four loops on the mushy, snow covered 5.6-kilometre track, the pint-sized Canuck from Chelsea, Que. showed her fight after dropping out of the top-30 at the midway point of the race to secure a career-best finish.

“It is really satisfying to end the week this way. The other two individual distance races at World Champs have been pretty disappointing so if feels great to finish with a strong performance,” said Stewart-Jones, who also skied a strong opening leg on Thursday’s 4×5 kilometre relay.

Stewart-Jones realizes the gap she still needs to close in her continued development to keep up with the world’s best. Two Norwegian athletes set the tone on Saturday. Therese Johaug was first across the line with a time of 1:14:26.2. Ingvild Flugstad Oestberg finished 36.8 seconds back in second at 1:15:03.0.

Sweden’s Frida Karlsson stopped the clock at 1:15:19.2 for the bronze medal.

Two-time Olympian, Emily Nishikawa of Whitehorse, skied to 39th at 1:24:37.7. Dahria Beatty, also of Whitehorse, was 41st (1:26:00.7), and Cendrine Browne (Saint-Jérôme, Que.), skied to a time of 1:29:16.2 for 46th spot.

Complete Results: https://bit.ly/2RvNWJz

The World Nordic Ski Championships wrap up on Sunday with the men’s 50-kilometre mass start race. 

CCC is the governing body of cross-country skiing in Canada, which is the nation’s optimal winter sport and recreational activity with more than one million Canadians participating annually. Its 60,000 members include athletes, coaches, officials and skiers of all ages and abilities, including those on Canada’s National Ski Teams. With the support of its valued corporate partners – Haywood Securities Inc., AltaGas, Swix and Lanctôt Sports– along with the Government of Canada, Canadian Olympic Committee, Canadian Paralympic Committee, Own the Podium and B2Ten, CCC develops Olympic, Paralympic and world champions. For more information on CCC, please visit us at www.cccski.com.

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Chris Dornan                                                       

Media and Public Relations

Cross Country Ski de fond Canada

T: 403-620-8731