February 23, 2011 (Oslo, Norway) – Anticipation is mounting as the FIS XC Worlds draw nearer. Today saw qualifications in the individual classic 10km men’s and 5km women’s events with the top 10 skiers advancing. The story of the day was Kiwi Benjamin Koons’ (NZL) top-spot qualification in the men’s race.
Koons became New Zealand’s first ever male cross country skier to compete at a Winter Olympics in Vancouver in 2010. He didn’t start skiing until moving to Maine, USA when he was 14 years old and became an accomplished skier for Darmouth qualifying for for the NCAA’s his first year skiing for Dartmouth when he was 19.
Callum Smith (GBR) finished second in the qualifier, followed by Sergey Mikayelyan (ARM) in third. Niviaq Berthelsen (DAN) won the women’s round, followed by Nina Broznic (CRO) in second and Ingrida Ardisauskaite (LTU) in third.