As the races got longer, Emily Nishikawa’s results got better.
The Whitehorse Olympian posted improved results in a FIS World Cup mini tour event last week in Lillehammer, Norway.
After three races of increasing length, Nishikawa placed 46th overall out of 74 skiers.
“The sprint and the five-kilometre free weren’t the best races for me, but I was very happy with my performance in the 10-kilometre classic,” said Nishikawa in an email to the News. “This was a great race for me. I am racing better in classic than I ever have before. I’m very happy with the way I am improving in my international results this year. Racing in Norway is just incredible, I had lots of fun.”
The 25-year-old placed 76th in 1.5-kilometre sprint last Friday, 67th in five-kilometre free Saturday and 42nd in the 10-kilometre pursuit classic Sunday.
“This was my first sprint of the year,” said Nishikawa. “I am focusing more on distance racing this year. But as this weekend was a mini tour, you have to complete each race to be able to start the next race.”
Nishikawa, who is a member of the national team, placed 38th in a field on 76 skiers in the women’s 10-kilometre classic at the FIS World Cup season opener in Ruka, Finland, two weeks ago.
The national team skier who competed at the Sochi Olympics at the start of the year, placed fourth in a 10-kilometre FIS warm-up race three weeks ago in Sweden.
Nishikawa will be back in action this Saturday, racing a 10-kilometre classic on the World Cup tour in Davos, Switzerland.
Contact Tom Patrick at
tomp@yukon-news.com