Kershaw, Canada win gold at world skiing championships

Sudbury's Devon Kershaw, along with his Team Canada relay partner Alex Harvey, skied into the record books March 1, with a narrow win over Norway in the men's classical-style team sprint at the Nordic world skiing championships.

The pair earned Canada its first medal in men's competition at the world championships. The only other Canadian cross-country skier to win a medal at the world championships is Sara Renner of Canmore, Alta., who took bronze in a classic-ski sprint race in 2005, according to an article by the Canadian Press.

"The Norwegians have like 100 world championship medals and we won our first today for Canada," Harvey, a 22-year-old from Quebec, was quoted saying in the article. "To do it at the birthplace of the sport is incredible."

"It is a dream come true and to do this in Norway is amazing," Kershaw, 28, said.

The final featured 10 teams made up of two athletes who raced three times around the 1.5-kilometre track while handing off to their partner following each leg.

Skiing at the back of the lead pack for the first half of the race, Kershaw gradually picked away at the field where he handed off to Harvey in third spot at the final exchange. Harvey then chased down his Norwegian foe in front of a crowd of more than 50,000, the Canadian Press article described.

The Norwegians finished in 19:10.2, ahead of Russia in 19:10.5.