Black Jack skier Jasmine Drolet of Rossland skied to a couple of top-10 finishes at the World Nordic Ski Championship in Lygna, Norway this week.
Drolet had one of the best results of any female Canadian Skier on Friday, Feb. 25 in the World Junior Championship five-kilometre classic-ski race. The 19-year-old consistently posted splits in the backend of the top-10 throughout her race on the Norwegian trails and crossed the finish line in eighth spot with a time of 14:51.6.
“I felt pretty good. I really like classic skiing and my goal was to give it all I had,” said Drolet, who is competing in her fourth World Junior Championships. “You only ski the lap once, so the key was to just go hard the whole time. We had amazing conditions, perfect for classic skiing so it was a good day.”
Drolet was just 21.5 seconds off the gold-medal mark posted by Russia’s Dariya Nepryaeva (14:30.1). Elizaveta Bekissheva, also of Russia, posted a second-place time of 14:33.0. Norway’s Emma Kirkeberg Moerk skied to the bronze medal (14:34.1).
Canmore skier Xavier McKeever, 18, earned a sixth place finish in the junior men’s 10-km race.
Earlier in the week Drolet, along with teammates Sarah Cullinan, Jasmine Lyons and Liliane Gagnon combined for a seventh-place finish and a time of 38:38.0 in the women’s 4 x 3.3-km relay event, while the men’s team just missed the podium with a fourth place result.
Drolet rocketed out of the gate for the Canucks in the opening leg and skied at the front of the pack throughout her classic ski lap and handed off to Cullinan in first spot.
“I’m really happy with my leg and really proud of the girls,” said Drolet. “I wanted to start fresh from yesterday. Classic is my style. It was a hilly course which is good for me, and I just wanted to give it my all.”
Cullinan continued to battle in medal position until midway through her 3.3-kilometre dash when she began to drop off the leading pace. Lyons began her journey in eighth spot and held the spot for Gagnon in the anchor position. Gagnon gained one more place on the field before crossing the finish line in seventh place.
The Norwegians won the women’s relay with a time of 36:52.3, topping the Russians in a photo finish (36:52.4). The Germans claimed the bronze medal with a time of 37:27.7.
Jasmine’s brother Remi, also a Black Jack skier, competed at the Winter Olympic Games in Beijing, placing 11th in the Men’s 4x10-km relay, 33rd in 15-km classic, and 35th in the 50-k, which turned into a 30-k due to weather conditions.
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