The FIS Nordic World Ski Championships are happening in Seefeld, Austria, from Feb. 19 to March 3 and a pair of Yukoners is part of Team Canada.
Both Emily Nishikawa and Dahria Beatty are competing in a number of events.
Competition started on Feb. 21 with the free sprint qualifications and finals.
In qualifying, top spot went to Sweden’s Maja Dahlqvist with a time of two minutes and 29.44 seconds. Switzerland’s Nadine Faehndrich and Sweden’s Hanna Falk were second and third.
The top Canadian was Beatty in 31st, followed by Katherine Stewart-Jones in 40th and Maya MacIsaac-Jones in 52nd.
The top 30 advanced to the heats, with Maiken Caspersen Falla of Norway ultimately winning the final in two minutes and 32.35 seconds. Second went to Sweden’s Stina Nilsson and third to Norway’s Mari Eide.
Next up for the Canadian women was the skiathlon, consisting of 7.5 kilometres of both classic and free skiing.
Norway’s Therese Johaug won the event with a time of 36 minutes and 54.5 seconds.
In second spot was fellow Norwegian Ingvild Flugstad Oestberg with a time of 37 minutes and 52.1 seconds, followed by Russian Natalia Nepryaeva in third after finishing in 37 minutes and 53.2 seconds.
The top finish from a Canadian was Stewart-Jones in 39th with a time of 41 minutes and 14.3 seconds, followed by Cendrine Browne in 40th and MacIsaac-Jones in 54th.
Next were the team sprint semifinals and final on Feb. 24.
Top spot in the first semifinal went to the Swedish duo of Nilsson and Dahlqvist with a time of 15 minutes and 36.52 seconds, followed by Norway — Oestberg and Falla — in second and Finland — Anne Kylloenen and Krista Parmakoski — in third.
Canada, consisting of Beatty and Nishikawa, skied in the first semifinal finishing sixth in 16 minutes and 12.65 seconds.
In the final, Sweden won with a time of 15 minutes and 13.93 seconds.
Second spot went to Slovenia’s Katja Visnar and Anamarija Lampic in 15 minutes and 15.3 seconds, and third spot went to Norway.
Canada officially finished 12th overall.
The ladies’ 10-km classic race was Feb. 26 and Scandinavians were again on the podium.
Johaug finished first with a time of 27 minutes and 2.1 seconds. Sweden’s Frida Karlsson was second in 27 minutes and 14.3 seconds followed by Norway’s Oestberg in 27 minutes and 37.7 seconds.
The top Canadian was Nishikawa with a time of 29 minutes and 38.2 seconds, good for 36th overall.
Next across the line for Canada was Beatty in 49th, followed by Stewart-Jones in 51st and MacIsaac-Jones in 66th.
The championships continue with the ladies’ relay on Feb. 28, men’s relay on March 1, ladies’ 30-km free mass-start on March 2 and men’s 50-km free mass-start on March 3.
Contact John Hopkins-Hill at john.hopkinshill@yukon-news.com