Grueling Sapporo program continues for cross country skiers

Australian Casey Wright continued her superb form at the Asian Winter Games in Sapporo, with a strong performance in the ladies 5km classic cross country yesterday.

Wright finished 11th with a time of 15 minutes, 57 seconds. The time left her just four seconds shy of a top-ten finish and a minute behind the event winner, Yuki Kobayashi of Japan.

It was another impressive performance for the 22-year-old who said she felt like “a totally different athlete” after finishing third in her preferred event, the 1.4km sprint on Monday before backing it up with a 15th in the 10km freestyle on Tuesday.

“Today was a fun day and I’m a bit happier than my result on Tuesday,” said Wright. The conditions were even trickier than Tuesday but luckily for the women’s race it was a little bit more consistent than the men’s event. I am a little bit tired after three events but it has been an amazing experience and I’m really happy I’ve been able to come out here and smash out some good results.”

In a gruelling race, Australians Ben Sim and Jackson Bursill fought right till the end in the men’s 10km.

Vancouver 2010 Olympian Sim finished 16th with a time of 29 minutes 38 seconds, while Bursill was 18th at 32 minutes 47 seconds. Japan’s Akira Lenting took out the event in a time of 25 minutes 15 seconds.

“I had a good start today before the weather got super warm and our skis struggled,” said Sim. The second lap was a bit better for me as I picked up a few places and that was a positive. I’m now looking forward to the 30km mass start.”

Sim came out of retirement for the event and says he is feeling it.

“It’s harder than I remember,” he said with a laugh. It’s give me a bit of motivation to train a bit more and see how I feel.”

Wright (15km Free -Mass Start), Sim and Bursill (30km Free – Mass Start) will next compete on Sunday 26 February, the final day of the 2017 Asian winter Games. 

Article courtesy of olympics.com.au