Canada's cross-country skiers enjoyed another historic day at the 2010 Olympics, placing three athletes in the top-10 in the 30-kilometre pursuit race. This day saw another Canadian Olympic record broken; 4 Canadian men in the top 16 in an Olympic cross-country ski race.
Ivan Babikov of Canmore, AB finished 5th today after a courageous fight to reach the podium. He was behind the lead pack for a short time during today's race, but battled back to miss the bronze medal by 6 seconds. He considers his success very much a team effort. "I definitely contribute a lot to the team, to the wax tech team and to Cross Country Canada. They did everything they could to help us race. The crowd was great and this helped all the Canadian athletes perform at their best. All of this definitely helped us significantly."
Canada's next record breaking finisher was George Grey of Rossland, BC with an 8th place finish. This is Grey's best individual international result to date. He earned his first World Cup medal last year at Whistler Olympic Park in the team sprint with partner Alex Harvey. Grey also attests his result to the strength of the entire cross-country team. "You know it's a team effort! It's coaches, wax technicians, our skis, it's being healthy and putting the training together. It's not just me or any other member of the team. It's a team effort and you can't do it without a team."
Youngster Alex Harvey of St-Ferréol-les-Neiges, QC was Canada's next finisher, tight on Grey's heels, finishing in 9th place. This finish beats his father, Pierre Harvey's, best Olympic result from the 1988 Olympic Winter Games in Calgary. Harvey mirrors his teammate's comments about the team's performance today but added that it was very hot and they were all at maximum effort.
Devon Kershaw of Sudbury, ON rounded out the Canadian's historic finish today with a solid 16th place finish. "I felt really strong and comfortable in the classic portions and then in the skate for whatever reason, I just didn't have the legs. I'm personally disappointed but at the same time I'm just so excited for all my teammates who all had career-best days. I wish I was right there with them but at the same time to have 3 people in the top ten at the Olympic Games at home is just phenomenal."
Canada can now look forward to February 24th men's team relay, where Canada is now a heavy medal favourite.
Contributed by Cross-Country Canada
