Brent McMurtry was as close to going out on top as one can get at a Canadian cross-country ski championships, while biathlete Zina Kocher showed she's more than capable of racing without a rifle in capturing the event-closing distance races at the Haywood Ski Nationals.
McMurtry, who announced his retirement earlier in the week of races at Whistler Olympic Park, won the men's 50-kilometre Canadian title Saturday (March 30) in a time of two hours, four minutes, 55.2 seconds. He finished a half-second back of overall winner Torin Koos of the U.S. in a sprint to the finish, but only Canadian athletes can win national titles.
"It's a little bittersweet. Obviously, I would have liked to win outright," McMurtry said.
"I had a feeling it would come down to a sprint. I just didn't quite have the gas to get around him."
Kocher was strong from start to finish to win the women's Canadian 30 km skate title Saturday. Bettina Gruber of Switzerland won the race overall, but Kocher was clearly the fastest Canadian. Kocher has several national biathlon titles, but this was her first Canadian cross-country gold medal. Heidi Widmer was the second fastest Canadian, followed by Brittany Webster.
"It's pretty awesome. I always wanted to do a long distance sometime in my career and I had some time after the World Cups," Kocher said.
"It's definitely a different type of racing than biathlon, but it's a lot of fun. I think I prefer biathlon but this is good training, especially the mass starts."
In Thursday's (March 28) classic sprints, Daria Gaiazova followed her March 26 victory in the 10 km classic with another win. The World Cup star hiked her count of Canadian titles to 11.
"I'm so tired it's ridiculous, but the body seems to be holding up, so I can't be happier," she said. "I haven't been sleeping at all with the jet lag and everything. It's amazing how much the body is capable of."
Len Valjas dominated the men's classic sprints, leading most of the day en route to his third national title.
"I was out here to enjoy the day and have fun. It's been a long season. It's good to feel better than I have the last two weeks on World Cup. I really didn't feel that good, so it's good to get back in there," Valjas said.
Graham Nishikawa took the men's silver and Phil Widmer claimed bronze. Visit www.zone4.ca for a full list of event results.
