Marika Magnussen, Sasja Hendriksen, Qunaaq Jensen and Elias Nordahl, cross-country skiers, have recently returned home after representing the country at the Junior World Cross-Country Skiing Championships, where they participated in several different disciplines and delivered solid performances.
During the championship, the runners competed in, among other things, sprint, 10 km, 20 km and relay. All four runners completed strong races and delivered some of their best performances this season.
However, Marika Magnussen in particular impressed at the championship. She came in 46th in the sprint among 79 runners and finished 54th in the 10 km distance out of 75 participants.
In the relay, the runners participated in a mixed team consisting of two girls and two boys. Here, Marika Magnussen and Sasja Hendriksen ran together with two Danish runners. The cooperation across countries worked well and also gave the Greenlandic runners the opportunity to try their hand at relays at an international level.
This is the first time in 13 years that Greenland has had participants at the Junior World Championships in cross-country skiing, and that is a success in itself.
– The participation is the result of long-term development work, where both the association and the clubs have focused on skiing for children, as well as a large voluntary effort among coaches in the clubs. The work is now starting to bear fruit, and we must continue the positive development, says national coach Martin Møller in a press release from the Greenland Ski Association.
The Junior World Championships thus mark an important step in the development of Greenlandic cross-country skiing and give hope for continued positive development in the sport.
