The personal bests continue for Whitehorse’s Dahria Beatty at the 2022 Olympics.
The 27-year-old cross-country skier cracked the top-20 during the women’s 10-kilometre classic ski, for the first time in her two trips to the Olympics, Nordiq Canada noted in a Feb. 10 statement following the race.
She finished with a time of 30:00.2 and was the top Canadian in the race. Therese Johaug of Norway took gold while Finland’s Kerrtu Niskanen and Krista Parmakoski took silver and bronze, respectively.
Beatty has skied to personal bests throughout the Games, including in both the skiathlon and sprint races.
“I definitely feel like I am in the best shape of my season now, so I knew there was potential for a strong race today,” said Beatty, who placed 28th in the skiathlon and 25th in the sprint races earlier this week
“I’ve been feeling good in the other two events and think that I’ve been building through each one. I had a strong result in this race at our trials in Canmore and I feel like I’m in a lot better shape now. It was a happy surprise to be in the top-20.”
She went on to say she was able to find her own rhythm in the free ski event, after feeling like she was too conservative in the skiathlon on the climbs.
“I really tried to push my limits on the climbs and trust that I’d be able to recover enough on the downhills to go into the next one,” she said of her most recent race.
It was noted Beatty has only finished in the top-20 on the World Cup four times throughout her career, with three of those – two 15ths and a 16th place – being in sprint races. Progressing with distance skiing, Beatty’s best World Cup distance race came last season when she was 15th in a 30-kilometre pursuit in Engadin, Switzerland, Nordiq Canada noted.
“If you go back to my teenage years, I was more of a distance skier, but I’ve had a lot more success sprinting internationally,” Beatty said. “It is definitely easier to break into sprinting if you are able to get that qualifying speed, but the last few years, I’ve been able to have good training seasons and that overall fitness has been caught back up with the tactical power I’ve had for sprinting.
“I’ve never given up saying I’m an all-around skier so I’m happy that I am finally showing that again after all of these years.”
Beatty’s next event will be the team relay on Feb. 12.
Contact Stephanie Waddell at stephanie.waddell@yukon-news.com