February 02, 2017 (Soldier Hollow, UT) – Canada’s Dahria Beatty skied to a strong race finish in 16th at 1:25.8 behind Anna Dyvik of Sweden who made it two-for-two winning the U23 Women’s 10km Freestyle individual start over three Norwegian rivals.

Dyvik skied a dominant second lap on the tough 2002 Olympic 5km course to best three hard-charging Norwegians. Tiril Udnes Weng of Norway faded after having the fastest first lap in the field but managed to hold onto the silver medal at 16.8 seconds behind Dyvik. Two more Norwegians battled for the bronze, with Lovise Heimdal edging out Lotta Udnes Weng by one-tenth of a second at 23 seconds behind Dyvik.

Beatty’s first lap time put her in 10th position, but she struggled to maintain that place in the second half of the race. “It would have been nice to keep skiing in the top 10 but I fought right to the end and maybe I’ll figure out how to keep the legs alive for the entire race for the Skiathlon on Saturday. Let’s hope so,” she quipped.

Frederique Vezina (CAN) skied negatively splits to place 25th at 1:58.8 back. Vezina was closely followed by teammate Katherine Stewart-Jones in 27th at 2:07.8 behind.

Kelsey Phinney posted the top US result of the day, also skiing negative splits to sneak into 30th place at 2:24.6 back. Phinney led a tight group of Americans, with Jesse Knori coming in 32nd at 2:36.4 behind with Alayna Sonnesyn in 33rd at 2:51.4 back.

Jennifer Jackson (CAN) finished in 37th at 3:31.8 back and Nicole Bathe (USA) placed 39th at 4:19.8 behind Dyvik. An overcast sky greeted skiers for the day’s competition, with temperatures well above freezing. Occasional raindrops fell during the race, but bad weather held off – 43 athletes competed.

Results here.