麻豆社区

With a particularly harsh strain of the flu bug decimating her fellow Yukoners, an unaffected Emily鈥圢ishikawa raced to two big wins on the NorAm circuit last weekend.

Annah Hanthorn also picked up two race wins before missing Sunday鈥檚 action in Canmore, Alta., due to illness.

Coach Alain Masson said 10 of 12 Yukon skiers were affected by the flu during the Haywood NorAm Western Canadian Championships.

鈥淲e had some kind of a stomach flu bug going through everybody,鈥� Masson told the Star this morning.

鈥淚t was pretty sad because 10 of 12 of the skiers that came from Whitehorse all got sick 鈥� almost everybody.鈥�

Natalie Hynes and Hannah Shier were the only two able to stave off the illness, with Hynes picking up her first silver medal with a personal-best performance in the five-kilometre junior girls classic race Friday.

Many of the sick skiers attempted to ski through the pain, but a lack of appetite and spells of vomiting ultimately did them in, Masson said.

Despite the disappointment caused by the sickness, Masson said the races served as a good experience for the young skiers, who were able to witness some of the top racers in Canada in action.

Approximately 550 skiers were on hand for the Western Canadian Championships, he said.

Nishikawa won two distance races at the championships, following her gold in the 10-km interval race Jan. 11 in Duntroon, Ont.

The 25-year-old is quickly entrenching herself as the fastest female distance skier in the country, following her dominant win in the women鈥檚 15-km free technique race Sunday.

Nishikawa sped to the finish line in 46:30.8, nearly a minute and a half ahead of runner-up Olivia Bouffard-Nesbitt.

Yukoner Dahria Beatty placed third, earning her second bronze of the weekend event.

On Thursday, Nishikawa kicked off the championships on a strong note, winning the 10-km race by 38 seconds at Lake Louise. Beatty took third.

On Saturday, 19-year-old Hanthorn won the junior women鈥檚 1.3-km sprint with a time of 3:18.49, following up her excellent performance Thursday that saw her top the junior women鈥檚 field in the 10-km race at Lake Louise.

Hanthorn did not start Sunday as she chose to spend the day recovering before travelling to the world juniors in Kazakhstan.

Also of note, Knute Johnsgaard took third in the 1.3-km men鈥檚 sprint in a photo finish Saturday.

Ultimately, the Yukon finished third in the event standings, behind the winning team from Alberta and runner-up British Columbia.

Last weekend鈥檚 NorAm event was the last competition the Yukon ski team will be involved in until the Canada Winter Games, Masson said.

Calls to Nishikawa and Hanthorn this morning were not returned before press time.