Cendrine Browne and Graham Ritchie Sprint into World Cup Heats in Lahti

LAHTI, Fin.—One week removed from competing at the Olympic Winter Games, Cendrine Browne and Graham Ritchie were back on a World Cup start line with seven other Canadians for the sprint freestyle event in Lahti, Finland.

For the first time in her career, Browne qualified for the head-to-head heats with Ritchie being the sole athlete from the men’s side to earn a spot in the round of 30.

After battling with some of the best in the world in the quarter-final heats, Browne (Prévost, Que. finished in 30th position, while Ritchie (Parry Sound, Ont.) was 24th.

“I’m really happy about how I skied, I wasn’t feeling good during my warmup, and I wasn’t sure how my body would respond” said Browne who qualified for the heats in 29th place. “There were a lot of learning moments today and little mistakes, but I’ve learned a lot so that’s good for next time.”

“I think it was a pretty solid day overall. It was nice to get back into the heats for sure, and nice to see the women get in as well,” said Ritchie, who finished fifth in his heat. “I was happy, but it was definitely a learning experience for sure. I think that was only my third World Cup heat, so you learn a lot every time. I know what I have to do in the future, and just need to keep pounding that into my head and hope for the best.”

Other Canadian results include:

Women
33. Olivia Bouffard-Nesbitt (Morin Heights, Que.)
34. Dahria Beatty (Whitehorse)
54. Laura Leclair (Chelsea, Que.)

Men
40. Antoine Cyr (Gatineau, Que.)
46. Olivier Leveille (Sherbrooke, Que.)
55. Philippe Boucher (Lévis, Que.)
58. Remi Drolet (Rossland, B.C.)

Sweden’s Jonna Sundling sprinted to the women’s gold. Norway’s Johannes Klaebo won the men’s race.

Complete results: https://bit.ly/3sluFfz