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Olympic athletes with Whitehorse ties spark pride

A pair of outdoor sport organizations in Whitehorse are bursting with pride as athletes that have lived or trained in the Yukon compete in the 2022 Winter Olympics. 

'We're ... glued to our TVs or watching on the app to see how they do'

CBC News ·
Dahria Beatty of Canada in action during the women's sprint free qualification of the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games at the National Cross-Country Centre, Zhangjiakou, China, on February 8, 2022 (Lindsey Wasson/Reuters)

A pair of outdoor sport organizations in Whitehorse are bursting with pride as athletes that have lived or trained in the Yukon compete in the 2022 Winter Olympics. 

"She is the alpha and she's the omega," Tom Ullyett, of the Whitehorse Cross Country Ski Club, said of Dahria Beatty on Friday. Beatty, a 27-year-old Whitehorse-born cross country skier, placed 28th in the women's skiathalon and 25th in the sprint. 

"Next time you go for a 10 kilometre [cross country ski], see how long it takes you. Dahria, on a very difficult course, did it 30 minutes," Ullyett exclaimed, referring to Beatty's 18th-place finish in the 10-kilometre classic race. 

He said seeing her compete has brought excitement, anticipation and pride to the ski club. 

"Just from a psychological point of view, it's been a great week." 

Beatty is competing in the women's 4x5km relay on Saturday.

Sam Oettli, the general manager of Mount Sima in Whitehorse, said it was "pretty amazing" to see Max Parrot and Mark McMorris on the podium following the snowboarding slopestyle event. 

Parrot won gold, McMorris received bronze.

Both athletes have trained at Mount Sima in recent years.

This season, Parrot didn't make it to the hill because of COVID-19 but McMorris spent more than two weeks there. 

Silver medalist, Yiming Su, of China, left to right, gold medalist Max Parrot, of Bromont, Que., and fellow Canadian and bronze medalist Canada's Mark McMorris, of Regina, celebrate on the podium with their national flags following the men's slopestyle final at the Beijing Winter Olympic Games, in Zhangjiakou, China, Monday, Feb. 7, 2022. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)

Snowboarders from around Canada have been flocking to the Whitehorse ski hill to make the most of a winter season that is shortening because of the changing climate.

"It's been amazing to watch them progress and do their thing at the hill," said Oettli.

"Myself and our office manager and a bunch of the patrol we're, you know, glued to our TVs or watching on the app to see how they do."

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