Canada's Dahria Beatty secures spot in cross-country skiing worlds
Canadian finished 16th at World Cup event in Germany
Dahria Beatty finished in 16th place in a cross-country skate-ski World Cup race on Saturday in Dresden, Germany.
The 24-year-old earned a spot in the round of 30 after qualifying in 20th place on the 1.6-kilometre snow-covered track that was rolled out along the Elbe River on the Dresden city streets.
"Today's race officially qualifies me for World Champs so that takes a bit of pressure off. Now I will be focusing on trying to build some momentum and refine a few things before racing in Seefeld next month," said Beatty.
The top-two athletes in each heat along with the next two fastest times advance. Beatty's day came to end when her time did not hold up for one of the two lucky loser spots.
Haywood UPDATE: <a href="https://twitter.com/DahriaBeatty?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DahriaBeatty</a> (#20), 1/4 final Dresden World Cup sprint.<a href="https://t.co/wkkTAtJ1dT">https://t.co/wkkTAtJ1dT</a>
—@cccski"I made a few small mistakes tactically in my heat, but my skis were amazing and I felt strong today," Beatty said.
Sweden's Stina Nilsson won the final, followed by Maja Dahlqvist. Jonna Sundling rounded out the podium.
Beatty's best World Cup result came in 2016 when she was 15th during a sprint race at the Ski Tour Canada in Canmore, Alta. The 2018 Olympian also finished 20th one year ago in Seefeld, Austria.
Bob Thompson, of Thunder Bay, Ont., posted the 32nd fastest qualifying time and did not advance to the heats. Toronto's Len Valjas placed 47th.