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World Juniors and World Cup wrap up for Yukon’s top cross-country skiers

Dueling sees another top 20 finish
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Yukoner Derek Dueling (42) wrapped up the 2022 World Junior Ski Championships in Lygna, Norweay with a 19th place finish in the men’s 10-k. (Alain Masson/Submitted)

It was another busy weekend for the territory’s top cross-country skiers as the 2022 World Junior Ski Championships in Lygna, Norway wrapped up Feb. 27 while the Lahti World Cup ski events were also happening over the weekend in Lahti, Finland.

The Yukon’s Derek Dueling and Sasha Masson have been competing at the World Juniors while Dahria Beatty competed at the World Cup, just a week after wrapping up her second Olympics.

The men’s 10-km classic at the World Juniors on Feb. 25 saw Dueling take another top 20 finish, placing 19th of 99 skiers with a time of 27.47.3. Dueling’s other top 20 finish at the World Juniors was in mass start on Feb. 22 , where he finished in 17th place.

Russian skiers Saveliy Korostelev and Alexander Ivshin took gold and bronze in the 10-km, respectively with Korostelev coming in with a time of 26:15.8 and Ivshin at 26.38.

Finland’s Niko Anttola took the silver with a time of 26.37.2.

On Feb. 27, Masson finished 35th in the sprint qualification round with a time of 2.21.5. Norway’s Johannes Loennestad Flatten ultimately won the sprint final with a time of 2:13.7, with Sweden’s Edvin Anger coming in 0.85 of a second later and Italy’s Benjamin Schwingshackl following for bronze with a time of 2:15.67.

Meanwhile, Beatty finished 33rd in the 10-km classic race on Feb. 27 with a time of 26:47.8.

Beatty is among four members of the Team Canada women’s cross-country ski team to take on the World Cup with Katherine Stewart-Jones seeing the top result for the team, coming in 30th with a time of 26:39.1.

“My body felt good, and my skis were really fast. It was just a great day to classic ski with perfect conditions and a super fun course,” said Stewart-Jones in a Nordiq Canada press release. “I’ve felt more myself since I’ve returned from the Olympic Games. It’s been nice to have more freedom this week, and to ski on fun trails that are not race courses.”

Cendrine Browne and Laura Leclair, who were also at the Olympics, also competed in the 10-km with Browne placing 36th with a time of 26:52.9 and Leclair placing 58th with a time of 28:56.3.

Norway’s Therese Johaug took the gold in the event with a time of 24:28.4 while Russia’s Natalia Nepreyaeva took silver with a time of 24:29.6. Finland’s Krista Parmakoski finished third with a time of 24:44.9.

Beatty also finished 34th in the qualification round of the women’s sprint at the World Cup with a time of 3:36.09.

Sweden took all three podium spots with Jonna Sundling skiing to gold with a time of 3:12.86, followed by Emma Ribom at 3:16.14 and Maja Dahlqvist at 3:16.53.

Contact Stephanie Waddell at stephanie.waddell@yukon-news.com



Stephanie Waddell

About the Author: Stephanie Waddell

I joined Black Press in 2019 as a reporter for the Yukon News, becoming editor in February 2023.
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