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Video shows historic win through Grey eyes

Rossland cross-country skiing hero George Grey was in the thick of the action at the Nordic Skiing World Championships in Oslo on March 2, but this time with a video camera in hand rather than skis on his feet, capturing history as Canadians Devon Kershaw and Alex Harvey snag their historic gold in an incredible race from behind in the Men’s Team Sprint Classic.


Rossland cross-country skiing hero George Grey was in the thick of the action at the Nordic Skiing World Championships in Oslo on March 2, but this time with a video camera in hand rather than skis on his feet, capturing history as Canadians Devon Kershaw and Alex Harvey snag their historic gold in an incredible race from behind in the Men’s Team Sprint Classic.

The thrilling race stunned the tens of thousands gathered in the stadium. Kershaw was in third place when he handed off to Harvey for the sixth and final 1.5km leg. Harvey held his own and then, in the final seconds, blasted up to first in what Black Jack Ski Club president Wannes Luppens described as a “beastly finish.”

“It went dead quiet,” Kershaw told the Vancouver Sun in an interview that evening. “We shocked the world. The Norwegians have over 100 world championship gold medals and we just got our first one.”

The win over Norway in second and Russia in third is especially sweet for the pair who took fourth place in the same event at the Olympics.

George Grey’s footage is certain to put a smile on your face, complete with his exclamations — and expletives — and the jubilant celebration of Canada’s team. It’s posted on YouTube as “Harvey Kershaw Gold from Team Perspective.”

Norwegian television coverage of the gripping event is available from VM Homenkollen’s YouTube channel as “Canadian Sensation.”