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Turners blazing a trail in cross country ski world

A brother, sister tandem tore up the cross country ski scene this past winter.
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Grace Turner of Williams Lake had multiple top-six finishes throughout the cross country skiing season and landed a spot on next year’s BC Talent Squad. Photo submitted

A brother, sister tandem tore up the provincial and national cross country ski scene this past winter.

Cole Turner, 15, and Grace Turner, 12, both earned nods in their respective-aged B.C. ski teams.

Cole — who lived in Prince George this past year to train as a member of the Caladonia Nordic Ski Club — finished the 2016/17 season accomplishing two of his three biggest goals — earning a medal at the Cross Country Canada Nationals along with earning a nomination to the BC Ski Team.

After winning the top B.C. aggregate for his age, combined with two gold medals at the Western Canadian Championships in February in Whistler, Cole said he had high expectations heading into his first nationals event as last season he had to withdraw due to a fractured ankle he suffered at the BC Winter Games.

He said he knew his western competition fairly well but was not sure what to expect from the eastern Canadian skiers.

At nationals, a skier from Quebec came out on top, while Cole and another skier from Ontario battled it out for silver and bronze. Cole sat in the silver position until the fourth and very last race.

Cole finished in 10th out of more than 100 racers and did not get a top-six podium finish, however, overall, his four performances in the five-kilometre classic ski, the five-kilometre skate ski, the short point double knockout and the 10-kilometre skate ski gave him the third-place bronze medal aggregate for the entire nationals event.

“My time at nationals was a great learning experience and one that I will not soon forget,” Cole said. “Although I had my sights set higher, I’m happy to have earned the third place national aggregate medal. I can’t wait for next season to top that result.”

Cole said he is especially excited with his BC Ski Team appointment as one of 22 skiers on the team as this was the first year he has been age-eligible to qualify and will now have the potential opportunity to travel with the team overseas in the next couple of years and meet his third goal of representing Canada at an international event.

Not to be too far outdone by her older brother, Grace Turner also had a fantastic season earning recognition from Cross-Country BC.

Several times throughout the season she finished in the top six in her competitive category and, in order to gain some big experience, competed in two of the events at nationals in Canmore, Alta.

Grace skied in a category with girls two to four years older than her and shocked her coach and teammates by significantly outperforming all expectations.

As a result she garnered the attention of B.C. coaches and earned a spot on next year’s BC Talent Squad.

Grace said she’s proud to say she earned the spot one year younger than her older brother, Cole and, from across the province, just six girls born in 2004 were nominated for this year’s team.

Cole said there will be very little rest for himself and Grace as May sees them both travelling to the Whistler training centre to begin preparations for next season.

In addition to a training camp at Simon Fraser University and Whistler, Cole will also attend the high elevation camp on Haig Glacier in Canmore in July.

Both said they could not have done so well this season without the abundance of support from the Williams Lake Cross Country Ski Club at Bull Mountain and their coaches and community support from local businesses.

And Cole and Grace both said they are keen to give back to the sport.

Aside from a busy skiing schedule, this year Cole helped the coaches at Bull Mountain with two days of training sessions to prepare for the midget championships, while Grace also worked with her younger teammates through demonstrations and sharing tips and techniques learned at provincial camps.



Greg Sabatino

About the Author: Greg Sabatino

Greg Sabatino graduated from Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops with a Bachelor of Journalism degree in 2008.
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