Athletes of the Year
WOMEN Daria Gaiazova
CANADIAN NORDIC SKIER OF THE YEAR
In her first full season on the World Cup, Gaiazova didn’t
disappoint. She qualified for the rounds in all but two of the
World Cup sprints, and took a career-best eighth place in
the classic sprint in Otepaa, Estonia, in January. Together
with Canadian sprint star Chandra Crawford, she also hit
the podium in the team sprint in Dusseldorf, finishing third.
The pair put forth a valiant effort in the same event in Oslo,
but fell short of the medals in sixth place. While her distance racing still has a ways to come, look for Gaiazova to
move into the A Finals in World Cup sprints next year, especially in the classic discipline, where she is strongest.
