November 28, 2012 (Canmore, AB) – The men from the Alberta World Cup Academy along with the Thunder Bay NDC and a couple other teams raced a 17km Skiathlon on the weekend in preparation for the first set of NorAm competitions coming up. Plenty of snow allowed for the group to race on the same trails being used for the World Cups, coming to Canmore December 13 – 16.

Graham Nishikawa finished first, after McMurtry, Killick, and himself broke away from the pack early on in the classic leg. Nishikawa grabbed a small lead after the transition, and maintained it over Killick who finished second. Brian McKeever who skis with the Para-Nordic National Team was able to catch back up to McMurtry and outsprint him to the finish.

Results
1. Graham Nishikawa (AWCA) 43:21:00
2. Graeme Killick (AWCA)43:44:00
3. Brian McKeever (PNST) 44:01:00
4. Brent McMurtry (AWCA) 44:02:00
5. Pate Neumann (CNSC) 44:13:00
6. Chris Hamilton (AWCA) 44:13:00
7. Partrick Stewart-Jones (AWCA) 44:26:00
8. Jess Cockney (AWCA) 44:40:00
9. Russell Kennedy (AWCA) 44:55:00
10. Gerard Garnier (CNSC) 44:57:00
11. Michael Somppi (AWCA) 45:09:00
12. Erik Carleton (PNST) 45:19:00
13. Phil Widmer (AWCA) 45:37:00
14. Andy Shields (NDC TB) 45:41:00
15. Matt Wylie (AWCA) 46:58:00
16. Jordan Cascagnette (NDC TB) 46:58:00
17. Dudley Coulter (NDC TB) 47:20:00
18. Bob Thompson (NDC TB) 47:27:00
19. Scott Hill (NDC TB) 50:15:00

This weekend’s NorAms in Canmore are also selection races for the Quebec and Canmore World Cups. So far Kevin Sandau, Alysson Marshall, who are currently in Europe racing the first set of World Cups, along with Emily Nishikawa and Brent McMurtry, are already pre-selected for these races.

February 24, 2012 (Erzurum, Turkey) – Canada’s Anne-Marie Comeau and Geoffrey Richards posted impressive top-20 results in their respective skiathlon races at the Junior World Championships in Erzurum, Turkey on Friday. In the women’s 5km classic + 5km freestyle event, Comeau skied solidly in both techniques – 21st in classic, 20th in freestyle – and had one of the fastest transitions (6th) in the competition, eventually finishing in 18th. Comeau’s performance is all the more impressive in that she is one of the youngest competitors at the these championships.

The women’s skiathlon event was won by Slovenia’s Nika Razinger. Canada’s Dahria Beatty also had a good result finishing 23rd. Teammates Emilie Stewart-Jones and Janelle Greer placed 41st and 47th respectively.

Americans Mary O’Connell and Corey Stock finished in 42nd and 43rd, respectively, followed by Emily Hannah in 51st. Stephanie Kirk was a DNF.

In the men’s 10km + 10km event, Richards shook off a weak classic leg (42nd), and after a quick transition, powered his way up into 20th position overall after skiing the 14th fastest skate leg. The USA also fielded a number of competitors in today’s skiathlon events with Logan Hanneman posting a solid 23rd result. Today’s men’s race was won by Russia’s multi-medalist Sergey Ustiugov.

Also racing today was Canada’s Alexis Turgeon in 31st while Knute Johnsgaard was 49th. For the USA Michael Vigers finished in 54th, followed by Will Wicherski (57th) and Forrest Mahlen (72nd).

Women’s skiathlon results HERE.
Men’s skiathlon results HERE.