On skis or backside, long reach an asset in ski cross photo finish

NAKISKA, Alta. – The ski cross finish line can be a place of high drama. It’s the first body part over the line, and it doesn’t matter which one, that counts.

The best example of the mayhem that can occur is a memorable men’s quarter-final at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. The three frontrunners crashed on the downslope of the final jump and slid over the line on various parts of their anatomies.

“A few guys couldn’t quite nail the landing,” is how Canada’s Chris Del Bosco puts it.

Switzerland’s Armin Niederer, the only man to stay upright, won the round to advance to the semifinal. It took a photo finish to determine a sprawling Egor Korotkov of Russia swung his left arm over the line in time to place second and join Niederer in the semifinal.

Canadians weren’t involved in that yard sale, but Calgary’s Brady Leman hasn’t always broken the tape on two skis.

“I’ve crashed across the finish line before,” Leman said Friday at Nakiska Ski Resort. “Not too badly, touch wood.”

In a sport where four skiers race each other head to head, a photo finish can separate gold from silver. It might also be the difference between finishing second and advancing to the semifinal or placing third and packing up your skis for the day.

Leman recalls being neck-and-neck with current Olympic champion Jean-Frederic Chapuis of France in a race a few years ago.

“I think I was in the closest photo finish we’ve ever had,” Leman said. “I outreached him by one frame on the high-speed camera which is one thousandth of a second.”

The by-a-hair finales tend to be on tracks with a straightaway into the finish corral, he said. The course for Saturday’s Audi World Cup at Nakiska wraps with a sharp turn right before a quick few rollers to the line.

“I’m not sure we’re going to have the photo finishes here or not just the way the finish is,” he said.

Seven Canadians advanced from Friday qualifying into Saturday’s knockout rounds and finals. The fastest 16 women and 32 men from individual timed runs moved on.

Marielle Thompson of Whistler, B.C. and Kelsey Serwa of Kelowna, B.C., were first and second, respectively, among the women. Thompson won gold and Serwa silver in Sochi.

Thompson is looking for her second win in as many races and her third victory this season. The 22-year-old has won at Nakiska the last two years.

Slovenia’s Filip Flisar was quickest among the men in qualifying with Leman second.

Montreal’s Del Bosco, Kris Mahler of Canmore, Alta., Toronto’s Kevin Drury and Mathieu Leduc of Comox, B.C., also moved onto the quarter-finals.

Unlike a close finish in cross-country skiing, in which the skiers lunge with a leg to get a ski tip over the line first, the ski crossers stretch out their arm.

“We can reach a lot further with our arms,” explained Thompson. “When you can feel people really close to you, you always want to do a big reach because there’s a photo finish and they can see your hand, your arm, your fingers.”

An extended finger has also beaten a closed fist.

“You want to stick out your middle finger,” Serwa said. “It’s just that little bit longer.”