Kimberley’s Colin Ferrie took gold in the Men’s Classic Sprint at the Canada Games in Prince George Tuesday.
While Ferrie prides himself on being a good all round skier, he has always thought of himself as more of a distance specialist, not a sprinter.
“The funny thing is I thought this race might be a cast away,” he said in a phone interview from Prince George, where he will continue racing this week. “So I was definitely really relaxed going into the race, not expecting too much, and I think in the end, that kind of helped me. It’s an amazing feeling right now. It’s hard to describe. I’m over the moon really.”
Ferrie says he was feeling good all day, as he advanced through qualifying heats, the quarter finals, the semis and the final. That’s four 1.5 all out sprints in one day, but he says the track held up well, though it got slushier as the day went on and temperatures rose.
“The course suited me well, the snow base was pretty good. I’ve had a lot of good skate races lately, so I was feeling good. The final was a mass start. In both the quarters and the semis I was first off the line. I got off first in the final again and I picked up the pace right away. The climbs on the course really suited me. I’m not the strongest double poler, so I used the climbs. I had two guys but I held them off.”
Ferrie won the race by a tenth of a second. He had the day off on Wednesday and resumed racing today.
The only other Kimberley athlete at the Canada Games is 13-year old Molly Miller. She had a good day as well, advancing to the B-Side final in the Women’s Classic Sprint, finishing ninth, racing against competitors much older than she is.
“For a girl her age, that’s phenomenal,” Ferrie said. “It was a pretty great day for Kimberley athletes.”