Harvey posts biggest win ever for Canadian X-C skier
Alex Harvey finished the Nordic World Championships in style by winning the final, and most prestigious race, the 50K mass start free style.
What a race it was, as all the top contenders were bunched together with only a few kilometres to go. It was then that the great Norwegian, Martin Sunby, made his signature move by breaking away from the group. This time though, Harvey stayed with him, slotting into second place. As they approached the last kilometre Harvey used the final downhill to slingshot past Sunby and then held him and the charging pack off to win by less than a second!
Harvey’s time of 1:46:28 is an average speed of just a fraction under 30 km/h over a course with 1,640 metres of climbing! It was the crowning moment of a great career for Harvey.
Alex Harvey is the son of Pierre Harvey who, until his son came along, was the greatest X-C skier Canada has ever had. Pierre was an amazing athlete, competing for Canada in both Olympic X-C skiing and cycling. He is a member of the Canadian Hall of Fame for both sports! He was also, until his son’s victory, the only Canadian to ever win a World Cup 50K race, the Holmenkallen 50K in 1988.
However, as great as he was he never won a world championship medal. Alex has five world championship medals — two gold, one silver and 2 bronze.
Harvey wasn’t the only Canadian skier making news in Europe.
Kelowna junior Gareth Williams was racing there also, and had some excellent results. He took a sixth place in a sprint race in Zweissel, Germany, and then a close second place in the 10K classic race at the Swiss Cup in Davos, Switzerland.
Closer to home, the racing season at Telemark ended with the club hosting the B.C. Midget Championships. Midgets are kids born in 2004-07, and the races are run in one year age groupings.
Over 220 youngsters competed in three events, a sprint race, an interval start classic race, and a team event.
In the sprint race, first place awards went to Telemark skiers Justin Siever (B2005) and Finn Redman (B2006). In the 2K classic race Garret Siever (B2004) won while Sylvie Achtem took second in 2007 Girls. The relay race was great for Telemark, with the team of Justin Siever, Jonah Hawes, Nikhil Filatow and Garret Siever winning handily.
Three members of Telemark are part of Special Olympics Team Canada and are heading to the Special Olympics World Winter Games in Austria. Justin Sigal, Tracy Melesko and Francis Stanley will be joined by coaches Ray Huson and Garth Vickers at the games. Congratulations and good luck.
105-year-old cyclist
Regular readers of this column realize that I put much of my emphasis on senior athletes. Like most people I am continually amazed at the feats of the young runners, skiers cyclists, etc.
However, they do receive a lot of publicity, and often a lot of money for their accomplishments. The senior athlete is different. He or she competes solely for the love of the sport, perhaps they might win an age class medal or two, and if they are top level, some moderate sponsorship. Rarely do they get much publicity for their successes. That’s why I love stories like this!
Nearly a century ago, Frenchman Robert Marchand was told by his cycling coach that he was too small, 1.5 metres tall and 52 kilograms, and would never make it as a pro cyclist. He believed his coach, forgot his dreams, and eventually had several careers, a firefighter in France, a truck driver in Venezuela and a lumberjack in Canada.
He didn’t take up cycling again until he was 68, but he took to it with a vengeance, doing rides like the Paris to Roubaix several times and even riding from Paris to Moscow. Recently he took his bike to a nearby velodrome and set an age group world record for the one hour ride. He rode 22.5 kilometres in one hour, and was disappointed with his attempt — he had completed 27 kilometres three years earlier!
On the same note I want to wish Ed Whitlock, the Canadian runner I wrote about in a previous column, a happy 86th birthday! Whitlock set a world age group record when he ran a 3:56:34 marathon last October in Toronto.
Running series resumes
The Canadian Tire Running Series gets into full swing this month with The Rivers Spring Runoff 10K in Kamloops on Sunday, followed by the Oliver 10K on April 9 and the Blossom 10 Miler in Penticton on May 14.
For further information, or to register for these events, go to www.interiorrunningassociation.com.
Don’t forget the Parkrun, which is held every Saturday at 9 a.m. at Parkinson Rec Center.
This is a timed 5K run at your own pace. For more info go to www.parkrun.ca/okanagan.
For the more advanced runner, RJ Dueck, a certified running coach, is offering free drop in speed work training sessions every Tuesday at 6 p.m. at the Apple Bowl commencing on Tuesday.
Fresh Air Experience/Concept are putting on a four-week triathlon clinic for beginner and inexperienced triathletes starting on April 8. This course will culminate with the students participating in the sprint distance Cherry Blossom Triathlon on May 7.
For more information go to www.freshair.ca/blogs/clinics.