Prince George 2019: Top 7 moments

There were plenty of memorable moments at the 2019 World Para Nordic Skiing Championships, which ended on Sunday in Prince George, Canada. Check out seven of them.

Royal congratulations

Vilde Nilsen’s meteoric rise in the sport did not go unnoticed. King Harald V of Norway himself sent her a personal note after she won three cross-country golds on her Worlds debut. “It was definitely very huge for me that the king did that. You feel very honoured to be representing Norway and when the king sends you a letter it’s very unreal.”

Jet lag does not affect McKeever

The nine-hour difference between Monaco and Prince George did not deter Brian McKeever from winning another world title. The most decorated cross-country skier in Paralympic history attended the prestigious Laureus Awards ceremony in the principality before flying to Canada to compete few days later at the World Championships, where he took the men’s cross-country long distance vision impaired title.

Edlinger is back

Much was expected from teenage sensation Carina Edlinger at PyeongChang 2018 after winning two golds at her first World Championships in 2017. However, she left South Korea with only one bronze. But the Austrian vision impaired cross-country skier seems to be back to full form this year as she stormed to two golds and one silver at Prince George 2019.

Ukrainian dominance

As happened at Finsterau 2017, Ukrainian skiers again ended top of the medals table with nine golds, 16 silvers and 17 bronze. Liudmyla Liashenko (women’s standing) finished as the most decorated athlete with three biathlon golds. She also claimed one gold, two silvers and one bronze in cross-country.

Masters’ successful return

At her first major international competition after recovering from a shoulder injury that jeopardised her participation at PyeongChang 2018, Oksana Masters proved she is still the best in the women’s sitting. The US skier swept all individual cross-country events and claimed two golds and one silver in biathlon.

Daviet almost unstoppable

The Flying Frenchman stunned everyone in Prince George as he secured five titles across cross-country and biathlon events. He only missed out gold in the men’s long distance standing, ending fifth. “For sure I wasn’t expecting to win five gold medals. It’s been a nice week,” he said.

Germany take step forward

It was a successful competition for German skiers, who outdid their performance at their home World Championships in Finsterau, in 2017. In Canada, Germany won five golds courtesy of Clara Klug - three biathlon titles in women’s vision impaired - and Martin Fleig - two cross-country golds in men’s sitting. The European country also claim three silvers and seven bronze.