Yukoner Sonjaa Schmidt could be on track to become one of the first Canadian women to earn gold at the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) Cross-Country World Cup series events.
She placed fourth among 60 international competitors on Jan. 25 in Italy during the women's sprint final free event, according to the FIS’s results online. Schmidt narrowly missed bronze to Maja Dahlqvist, a Swedish competitor.
Schmidt was narrowly beaten out with a time of 2:51.75 to Schmidt’s 2:52.54 at the event, which took place in Engadin, an Alpine valley region in the eastern Swiss Alps. Schmidt was selected by Nordiq Canada on Jan. 13 to represent the nation in the FIS World U23 Ski Championship.
Schmidt’s performance at the Nor-Am cup qualified her to compete on Nordiq Canada’s team during the first period of the World Cup season. She explained that the selection process was announced in early Janruary after she placed first on Jan.6 at time trial events in Thunder Bay, Ontario against 49 other competitors.
“They happened in Thunder Bay, and they have like three to four races that typically simulate what races will be like over there. And they kind of have a selection process where they, like, rank each race and whoever wins gets a spot on the team,” Schmidt said.
Schmidt will be competing in the U23 Junior Championships in Italy for the next week and a half, she said. She explained that after she leaves Italy, she will be in Falun, Sweden for FIS World Cup series events.
“I'll be here for the next week and a half for the 2025 U23 Junior Championships, and then after that, I'll be heading over to Falun in Sweden for the rest of period three,” Schmidt said.
After the U23 junior championships, Schmidt told the News on Jan. 30 that she will be attending training camps in Norway before the FIS Trondheim World Champs scheduled for Feb. 28 to March 9.
Schmidt’s recent results at the FIS World Ski Championship demonstrate that she has been achieving consistently steady performances over the World Cup events so far. She placed 10th out of 60 on Jan. 29 during the women's sprint qualification event and 23rd out of 64 on Jan. 22 in the women’s 20-kilometre mass start race in Engadine, Italy.
Schmidt notably achieved gold at the women's 1.2-kilometre sprint during the FIS U23 World Ski Championships in Slovenia last year. She competed in February 2024 against 55 other international competitors, placing first.
Contact Jake Howarth at jake.howarth@yukon-news.com
