麻豆社区

Whitehorse ski siblings Graham and Emily Nishikawa added yet another feather to their caps today.

Cross Country Canada announced the team that will represent the country at the World Nordic Ski Championships next month in Val di Flemme, Italy.

In an unprecedented move, the two Yukon skiers were named to the 11-athlete team.

Graham, 29, has been having a superb season.

He received the nod based on his two gold medals in recent NorAm selection races in Thunder Bay and Duntroon, Ont.

In his last race, Graham showed his dominance by throwing in a blistering first lap, then cruising for the rest of the race and still finishing with a 30 second margin over the second place finisher.

Graham is the first Yukon male skier ever to be named to the World Championships, which are second only to the Olympics in prestige in the nordic world.

On the women's side, the selection committee's job became difficult after Emily Nishikawa, who won the Thunder Bay NorAm race handily, woke up sick before the second of the qualifying races and wasn't able to start.

However, the 23-year-old has also been having a great season and has been dominating the senior women's field in NorAm distance races and therefore received the nod from Cross Country Canada to join the team.

She will be the first female skier from Yukon to go to the World Championships since Lucy Steele, who last made the trip in 1997.

Both Emily and Graham are members of the Canadian National Senior Development Team and are based in Canmore, Alta., where they train with the Alberta World Cup Academy.

Aside from being a great opportunity to match strides with the world's best skiers, competing in the world championships will also provide an opportunity for the athletes to qualify for the 2014 Sochi Olympic team.

Val di Flemme is located in northern Italy and has been the site of many World Cup races over the years.

Races run from Feb. 20 through to March 3.