CROSS COUNTRY: Liam Burton and Lilly Boland have saved their best for last at the Youth Olympic Games in Norway to ski great distance races on the final day of cross country skiing.
Both athletes were chasing a top 30 finish and they achieved this with Burton 27th in the men’s 10km Free and Boland 28th in the ladies 5km Free.
Burton was three minutes behind Magnus Kim, who skis senior World Cup races. The Korean won two gold and a silver from three events here in Lillehammer.
The course was a stuff as the competition for the 17-year-old from Jindabyne.
“It’s a really tough course that one, Burton said. “I knew there was work to do and I had to work hard from start to finish so I was just talking to myself the whole way through and pushed it as much as I could. I’m really happy with the outcome.”
Burton spent the summer training on roller skis and competing in triathlon events in the national junior series before having the final three weeks of preparations on snow in Austria and Switzerland.
Burton’s parents and supporters were on hand to congratulate him after the impressive performance in the field of 50 athletes.
“We’re very proud he did so well out there he couldn’t have done better,” Burton’s mum said. “He’s worked so hard to get here and worked hard his whole life to get to this stage and we are very proud of him,” his father added.
In the ladies race, Boland had the difficult task of being the first athlete on course, with no one to chase and 38 competitors doing the chasing. Despite her inexperience she paced herself well and managed the tough Birkebeinern cross country course above Lillehammer.
“I got top 30 so I got my goal, so it’s all good,” Boland said.
“I was a bit nervous because I was first off so I knew I wouldn’t have anyone to chase but I think I kept the pace up well.
The 16-year-old from Ulladulla in the NSW south coast found the course ‘really hard.’
“A lot of steep steep uphills and quick fast downhills so not a lot of rest out there.”
In overcast conditions with air temperature -5 degrees, Boland completed the course in 15 minutes and 10 seconds, to be two minutes and 11 seconds behind gold medallist Maya Yakunina. The Russian won by an incredible 31 seconds over Chi Chunxue of China and Rebecca Immonen of Finland with bronze.
Boland will take a lot of valuable experience and motivation from her time at Lillehammer 2016.
“It’s been a great experience at this international competition and with all the support and big crowds it’s been great and definitely prepared me for the future. This has motivated me a lot!
Coach Alasdair Tutt was pleased
“I’m really happy. Both of our athletes exceeded their ranking by a long way and probably skied close to the best races they’ve had in their careers. It’s incredibly tough with the depth of the field and how close the athletes ski to each other.”
And how did they deal with all the hype and distraction at their first major international competition.
“They’ve both handled the hype of the Youth Olympic Games really well. They’ve managed to switch off when they’ve needed to and amp up at the right times as well.”
After a final ski in Lillehammer on Saturday to make the most of the access to the wonderful venue and conditions they will get a few weeks of rest before starting training again for the World Junior Championships in January 2017. At some point down teh track Burton will need to choose between cross country skiing and triathlon but that decision can wait at least until after he finishes high school.
Andrew Reid
Olympics.com.au
