It came down to three hundredths of a second for Alain Cordonier and Rob Gosse. The B.C. Para-Alpine Ski Team members staged a heated battle for the title of top overall male at the 2010 Whistler Adaptive Sports Program Rotary Giant Slalom event on Whistler Mountain on Saturday (April 17). Cordonier managed to edge his sit-skiing teammate by that narrow margin to claim his second straight overall crown in the annual race.

“I’m always glad when things are close,” said Cordonier, a standing skier from Kamloops who has been racing in the annual event hosted by WASP and the Rotary Club of Whistler since it began.

Cordonier, the long male standing skier in Saturday’s race on Jolly Green Giant, said Langley’s Gosse definitely could have won, so it was an exciting day of racing.

“Rob turned out a good run,” Cordonier said.

In just her third race ever, 16-year-old sit-skier Chelaine McInroy earned the title of top overall female, beating out three senior athletes and two other juniors. McInroy, a member of the B.C. Para-Alpine Ski Team’s development squad, only started skiing last season, so she was a bit surprised to earn the overall female victory.

“But I was trying my hardest, so I was hoping (to win it),” McInroy added. Having opened her racing career with the Whistler Rotary event last season did help somewhat, McInroy said, because she knew what to expect at the 2010 race.

The Armstrong skier felt some butterflies heading into Saturday’s race, but those were quickly quelled: “I was more excited,” she said.

David McInroy, 13, a skier with the Silver Star program, captured the title of top overall junior in Saturday’s race, and won a bronze medal in his competitive category. Nine skiers in the Cognitive/Developmental Disability Male category shot out of the gates to chase the gold.

“There’s quite a few guys who are a lot bigger than me and they’ve been in it a lot longer. They’re really good,” David McInroy said.

Senior skiers Mark Hopkins and Cory Duhaime edged out the talented junior for the top two spots on the podium for their category. WASP athletes Avery Newman and Scott Waller finished eighth and ninth, respectively, in the division.

Gosse secured the top spot in the men’s sitting category, followed by B.C. teammates Caleb Brousseau and Jeff Thompson in second and third, respectively, and Alex Cairns of WASP in fourth.

Deaf skier Jamie Finely of WASP held his own to deliver a solo performance for the Deaf Skiers Male win, and Tamike Broere of the Vancouver Adaptive Snow Sports program led the way in the Cognitive/Developmental Disability Female division. WASP’s Sarah Colpitts and Marisa Davis finished fourth and fifth, respectively.

Skaters rake in medal haul

Competing against a large and powerful field last weekend (April 16 to 18) at the Vancouver Island Skating International, Whistler Skating Club athletes had no trouble gliding onto the podium, winning 12 medals including six golden baubles.

Leading the way with the top results were gold medallists Jordynn Anderson, Chantal Deane, Savanna Ellott, Arabella Ng, Lydia Robertson and Noam Steele, while Madeline Blaser and Kristjan Rohde captured silver medals.

Emelia Leigh, Caitlin Patterson, Emily Cankovic and Nikolas Rohde all won bronze medals to add to the stellar total for the Whistler club. Cankovic made her first trip to the podium with her third-place result. Rebekah Robertson also notched a personal-best result with her score of 51.74 points in the Pre-Novice Women competitive division, and finished in ninth place.

Whistler club officials expressed particular admiration for the performances of Ng, Leigh and Mio Chigama, who skated and delivered well in their first-ever competitions. Chigama earned a ninth-place result in Elementary Women, and Abby Dekok attained a fourth-place finish in the same category.

Cassidy Deane captured a fifth-place finish in Junior Bronze Women 13 and over, while Rebecca Blaser skated into sixth in Preliminary Women 11 and Over and Jandzeela Tompkins and Tess Thompson finished 10th and 11th in their respective categories.

Lydia Robertson, a fast-rising young skating star, has been invited to join the B.C. Coast Regional Select Team. The team members have been singled out due to their talent and potential ability to become successful competitive skaters, and they gain access to provincial development programs and opportunities.

The Whistler Skating Club’s season will wrap up on May 25 with an exhibition for skaters at all levels. Check whistlerskatingclub.ca for future details.

Runners take the lake

Avid trail runners opened race season in the Sea to Sky corridor with the annual Pemberton favourite known as the Mosquito Lake Trail Run on Sunday (April 18). John Teitzel bolted through the scenic, 10-kilometre course to win with a time of 41 minutes, 48 seconds, followed by adventure racer Jen Segger of Squamish in 42:06.

Jon Van Drunen, Walter Wallgram and Nola Cooper rounded out the top five, followed by Valeinna Dimma, Lisa Helmer Preston, Joe Davies, John Davies and Shane May to round out the top 10.

Nearly 60 racers hit the Pemberton trails for Sunday’s fun-focused event, and proceeds go to support Pemberton Search and Rescue.