HIGH ACHIEVERS WEEKEND WRAP: Guillaume Pelchat, Hannah Shields top nordic skiers at FIS Eastern/Candy Cane Cup

By Martin Cleary

Three days. Three races. Three gold medals.

During the Eastern Canadian cross-country ski championships in February, 2022, at the Nakkertok Nordic Ski Club, Guillaume Pelchat of Pembroke Nordic dominated the men’s U20 competition by winning all three races.

Thirty-four months later, while competing on the same course but in the men’s open category, Pelchat came within 18 seconds of completing another triple play.

Instead, he left the FIS Eastern/Candy Cane Cup with two gold medals and a bronze medal in his three senior races.

Pelchat, who trains at the Centre National Pierre Harvey, opened the annual Candy Cane competition, which attracted more than 600 racers, with a double bang in a pair of tight races.

He won the 10-kilometre interval classic on Friday and followed with another narrow victory in Saturday’s 1.3-kilometre sprint classic final.

One win away from a second, personal triple gold-medal performance, Pelchat finished third in the 7.5-kilometre free race in 16 minutes, 44.5 seconds, while Cormier was the champion in 16:26.8.

A performance of two gold and one bronze medals, however, allowed Pelchat to be named the overall men’s winner and the recipient of a $1,000 Hall Mark of Excellence Award, which is funded by former Canadian cross-country ski team coach Marty Hall.

Hannah Shields of XC Ottawa and Thunder Bay was the overall women’s winner with three top-10 results – a win in the 1.3-kilometre classic sprint, a second in the 10-kilometre interval classic and a ninth in the 7.5-kilometre free race. She also earned a $1,000 Hall Mark of Excellence Award.

Pelchat used a time of 22:44.9 to earn the 10-kilometre classic gold medal, while runner-up Alexandre Cormier of Fondeurs-Laurentides was second in 22:46.2 and Leo Grandbois of Orford Ski Club took third in 23:04.1.

“I felt good at the start, so I went out fast,” Pelchat said about Friday’s race in a press release. “I was able to ski with someone on the second and third laps, which really helped.

“The conditions were fast and a bit icy, so it was all about control on the downhills and pushing hard on the uphills.”

Going head-to-head with five other skiers in the 1.3-kilometre sprint classic final, Pelchat produced an identical 1.3-second margin of victory.

Pelchat held off Nicholas Randall of Big Thunder Nordic (2:49.53 to 2:50.90) as well as third-place finisher Felix-Olivier Moreau of Mont Ste. Anne (2:52.52).

“I felt really good on the track,” said Pelchat, who led the entire race, after posting the fastest qualifying time. “The conditions were fast and the wax techs did a great job.

“I am happy with my race and my results give me a lot of confidence for the rest of the season.”

Saturday’s sprints also belonged to Shields, who captured the women’s race by almost 8.5 seconds, after registering the fastest qualifying time by four seconds.

Shields won the sprint in a time of 3:23.71, while Ruby Serrouya of Revelstoke B.C. Nordic was second in 3:32.14 and Elie-Anne Tremblay of Skibec was third in 3:34.50.

“I felt pretty good today,” Shields signalled. “I have had a couple of years where my body hasn’t been feeling so good, so it is nice to have it co-operate with me today. It felt really good.”

In the women’s open 10-kilometre interval classic, Tremblay posted the best time of 28:22.5 and Shields finished second in 28:24.0. Third place went to Helen McCulligh of Kanata Nordic in 28:34.3.

Tremblay emerged a double champion, after winning the 7.5-kilometre free race in 20:26.2. Nakkertok’s Clara Hegan was second in 19:54.8, while McCulligh took eighth in 20:38.5 and Shields was ninth at 20:39.6.

Skiers representing clubs in the National Capital Region won a total of 30 medals – five gold, 15 silver and 10 bronze. Here is the list of the other local medallists:

U20 Men – Wes Robinson-Shaw, Fernie Nordic, Carleton University, 1.3-kilometre sprint, silver.

U20 Women – Clara Hegan, Nakkertok, 7.5-kilometre free, gold; Tessa Quinn-Crook, Nakkertok, 1.3-kilometre sprint, bronze.

U18 Men – Levi Sankey, Nakkertok, 1.3-kilometre sprint, silver; Owen Siderius, Nakkertok, 3.3-kilometre interval classic, silver, and 7.5-kilometre free, bronze.

U18 Women – Evelyn Davies, Nakkertok, 3.3-kilometre interval classic, silver, and 1.3-kilometre sprint, bronze; Adeline Latour, Kanata Nordic, 7.5-kilometre free, bronze.

U16 Men – Kai Samm, Chelsea Nordiq, 3.1-kilometre interval classic, silver, and 1.3-kilometre sprint, bronze; Darwin Liddiard-Duguid, Chelsea Nordiq, 5-kilometre free, silver; Marc-Antoine Daoust, Skinouk, 5-kilometre free, bronze.

U16 Women – Laila Lebel, Nakkertok, 5-kilometre free, gold, and 3.1-kilometre interval classic, silver; Mikayla Kennedy, Chelsea Nordiq, 1.3-kilometre sprint, silver; Alice Leblanc, Skinouk, 3.1-kilometre interval classic, bronze; and Mia Brun Del Re, Chelsea Nordiq, 5-kilometre free, bronze.

U14 Boys – Quinn Samm, Chelsea Nordiq, 3.1-kilometre interval classic, silver.

U14 Girls – Esmie Liddiard-Duguid, Chelsea Nordiq, 3.1-kilometre interval classic, bronze.

University, Women – Helen McCulligh, Kanata Nordic and Carleton University, 10-kilometre interval classic, silver; Maude Molgat, Whitehorse and University of Ottawa, 1.3-kilometre classic sprint, silver; Stella Duncan, Chelsea, PQ, and University of Calgary, 1.3-kilometre classic sprint, bronze.

JORDAN SCHAEPPER WINS TWO MEDALS AT PROVINCIAL SWIM MEET

Nepean-Kanata Barracudas’ Jordan Schaepper won two medals and recorded five top-10 results during the 10th Ontario junior international swim meet at the Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre.

Schaepper earned a pair of bronze medals in contrasting events – the boys’ 18-and-younger 200-metre butterfly in two minutes. 1.53 seconds and the 800-metre freestyle in 8:02.66.

His other A-final showings were: fifth in the 400-metre individual medley, 4:24.99, and 10th in the 400-metre freestyle, 3:58.85, as well as sixth in the boys’ 4×200-metre relay with Mehmet Deniz Capraz, Jordan Jolly Ssamula and Yuto Lee.

Schaepper’s times in the 200-metre butterfly, 400-metre IM and 800-metre freestyle were personal-best times. He attended a Swimming Canada distance/open water junior camp in Sarasota, Florida, last March and later competed in the 2024 Olympic swim trials.

Chloe Danks of the Greater Ottawa Kingfish Swim Club led after the opening 50 metres of the women’s 100-metre breaststroke, but finished fourth in 1:09.03. She also was seventh in the 200-metre breaststroke in 2:31.88.

In the mixed 4×50-metre freestyle relay, GO’s Kamal Balaa, Danks, Finn Clawson-Honeyman and Isla Hardie were seventh in 1:42.44.

Logan Milne of ROCS placed sixth in the men’s 100-metre breaststroke in 1:03.10, Hardie was seventh in the girls’ 18-and-younger 100-metre butterfly in 1:01.77 and the Barracudas’ Maizie Moustgaard was eighth in the girls’ 18-and-younger 100-metre butterfly in 1:02.19.

ANN-SOPHIE BOURGAULT FOURTH AT DIXIE WOMEN’S GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP

Royal Ottawa Golf Club junior Ann-Sophie Bourgault had an impressive showing at the Dixie women’s amateur golf championship at the Eagle Trace Golf Club in Coral Springs, Florida.

Bourgault placed fourth in the 72-hole championship with rounds of 76-71-73-72 for a four-over-par score of 292.

Karoline Tuttle of Lake Mary, Florida, won the title with a four-under score of 284 from rounds of 74-72-70-68.

HANNAH, JARED SCHMIDT RETURN TO HISTORY-MAKING VENUE

Hannah and Jared Schmidt made history one year ago at Arosa, Switzerland, when they became the first siblings to win ski cross World Cup races on the day.

Can the Dunrobin, ON., pair do it again?

Hannah qualified fourth and Jared 16th for Tuesday’s scheduled respective women’s and men’s World Cup races at Arosa.

In the opening World Cup session in Val Thorens, France, Hannah placed fifth and eighth in her two races and is fifth overall in the points standings. Jared is 29th overall based on finishes of 32nd and 31st in his first two races.

“I love Arosa. It’s one event, so we don’t have a back-to-back race,” Jared told the FIS Ski Cross Hub website. “But there’s something about racing underneath the lights and having a crowd there, the flames, the whole deal. It’s just an awesome event.

“This could very well be the one that gets this season started here. I’m skiing fast. It’s just kind of being in the right place, executing, making sure everything’s detailed in, skiing fast and having fun.

“Our team has been skiing really well, and I’m looking forward to more results from the whole team and hopefully stepping onto that podium again this year in Arosa.”

LOCAL WEIGHTLIFTER MISSES WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS DUE TO PROVISIONAL DOPING SUSPENSION

Shania Bedward of the CanAm Barbell Club was set to compete for Canada on a self-funded trip to the 2024 World Weightlifting Championships in Bahrain, but she was instead dealt a provisional suspension by the International Weightlifting Federation related to a September doping test.

Bedward’s Commonwealth Championships-winning performance on Sept. 19 is also at risk of being nullified. While competing in Fiji, she lifted a new personal-record total of 236 kg to top the women’s 76 kg category, with 103 kg in the snatch and 133 kg in the clean & jerk.

An International Testing Agency list of suspensions said her test found the presence of Modafinil metabolite, a stimulant that is banned during competition but allowed outside of competition.

Bedward’s performances at the Commonwealth Championships would have placed her fifth at the worlds. North Korea’s Kuk Hyang Song dusted the women’s 76 kg division at the World Championships with her 264 kg total, which was 16 kg better than anyone else.

North Korea – which had podium performances in every women’s category but one, and half of the men’s – is well known for having athletes appear on the international stage for the first time at major events in weightlifting, which has had the number of athletes allowed to enter the Olympics slashed due to its difficulty controlling doping.

A sanction has not yet been determined for Bedward. The ITA notes that doping cases may be in dispute before hearing panels. An Ottawa Sports Pages email to Bedward was not immediately returned.

LAST, BUT CERTAINLY NOT LEAST

· Nakkertok Nordic Ski Club’s Katherine Stewart-Jones was the first skier on course for the World Cup women’s 20-kilometre interval classic race in Davos, Switzerland and placed a season-best 22nd at the finish. She was timed in one hour, seven minutes, 10.5 seconds, which was 4:32.1 behind winner Astrid Slind of Norway. Skinouk’s Antoine Cyr was 32nd in the men’s 20-kilometre interval classic in 58:35.7. Martin Nyenget of Norway won in 55:37.8.

· Kalle Ericsson of Kimberley, B.C. and guide Sierra Smith of Ottawa combined to win bronze medals in the visually-impaired super-G and alpine combined during World Cup para alpine races in Steinach am Brenner, Austria. They also were fourth in the opening super G.

· Collinda Joseph of Stittsville will play lead for Canada at the 2025 world wheelchair curling championship March 1-8 in Stevenston, Scotland. The team is completed by fourth Jon Thurston of Dunsford, ON, third and skip Gil Dash of Wolseley, SK, second Doug Dean of Thunder Bay, ON, and fifth Chrissy Molnar of Trent Lakes, ON;

· University of Tennessee’s Regan Rathwell of Ashton, ON, placed 22nd in the women’s 200-metre backstroke at the World Aquatics swimming short-course championships in Budapest. The University of Ottawa’s Hashim Haba, who was representing Iraq, was 37th in the men’s 200-metre butterfly in 2:01.91 and 59th in the 100-metre butterfly in 55.49.

· Canada earned the silver medal at the 2024 Para Cup hockey tournament, after losing 4-1 in the final to the undefeated United States. In the semifinals, Canada defeated Czechia 3-1. Forward Anton Jacobs-Webb of Gatineau scored two goals and added two assists in the five-game tournament, while defenceman Tyrone Henry of Ottawa had one goal.

· University of Ottawa Gee-Gees women’s hockey head coach Alison Domenico also earned a silver medal with Team Canada while leading the national women’s development team for a Euro Hockey Tour in Finland. Canada beat Sweden, Czechia, and Finland to reach the final before falling 5-3 to USA.

· Avery Jones of the Ottawa Lady Sens scored the winning goal with under five minutes left in a 4-2 win as the Nepean Wildcats gave Ontario Women’s Hockey U22 Elite League powerhouse Ottawa a stiff challenge in the local junior women’s annual pre-Christmas Do It For Daron showdown on Sunday at the Bell Sensplex. Lady Sens alumna Rebecca Leslie of the Ottawa Charge dropped the ceremonial opening faceoff. With 57 points, Ottawa is in second place behind Etobicoke, while Nepean is 12th with 30 points.

– with files from Dan Plouffe