EMILY YOUNG 5th, NATALIE WILKE 6th at PYEONGCHANG

...................Two of those young Canucks battled through the soupy snow as temperatures rose for the women’s 15-kilometre skate-ski standing race that took centre stage on Monday afternoon.

North Vancouver’s Emily Young (Hollyburn Cross Country Ski Club) slogged her way to a fifth-place finish with a time of 51:51.4. The youngest member of Canada’s Paralympic Team, 17-year-old Natalie Wilkie (Larch Hills Nordic Society), had a solid outing in her first race in PyeongChang. Wilkie, of Salmon Arm, B.C., crossed the finish line sixth with a time of 52:12.9 in her Paralympic debut.

“That was really tough – a lot tougher than I thought it was going to be,” said Wilkie. “I’ve never raced over five kilometres before in these types of conditions. It wasn’t easy, but I’m happy I was able to push to the end.”

Neutral Paralympic Athletes owned the top two steps on the women’s standing podium. Ekaterina Rumyantseva won the gold with a time of 49:37.6, while Anna Milenina was second at 50:55.6. Liudmyla Liashenko, of the Ukraine, was third at 51:06.6.

Women’s results: https://www.paralympic.org/pyeongchang-2018/results/info-live-results/PWG2018/en/cross-country-skiing/results-women-s-15km-free-standing-fnl-000100-.htm

Complete article: http://www.cccski.com/Media/Press-Releases/Brian-McKeever-Becomes-Canada-s-Most-Decorated-Win.aspx#.Wqav6ugbPIV