CONTACT: Meri-Jo Borzilleri, Empire State Winter Games Communications & Media, (merijo@lakeplacid2023.com) Tel: 719-337-7987
Facebook.com/ESWGames, Instagram.com/ESWGames, Twitter @ESWGames
PHOTOS: See ESWGPhotos.com
February 4, 2023
SARANAC LAKE, N.Y. – Chris Burnham of Stowe, Vt. won his second gold in two days in ski orienteering at the 2023 Empire State Winter Games, winning his men’s 21+ age group division but also topping the entire 67-racer field of age-groupers ranging in age from 14 to 80+ at Dewey Mountain Recreation Center.
Ski orienteering, which combines cross-country ski racing and map navigation, concludes Sunday with the long event race. For the second-straight day on Saturday, competitors endured frigid weather that reached 19 below zero two hours before race time. Other outdoor events in the Games have been postponed or cancelled entirely due to low temperatures.
Burnham, 31, of Stowe, Vermont, finished the 2.6-kilometer (1.56-mile) middle-distance course in a time of 43 minutes, 14 seconds, best among 11 finishers. Adrian Owens, 55, of Craftsbury Commons, Vermont, took his second-straight silver to Burnham, posting a time of 49:05. Ari Ofsevit of Cambridge, Mass. won bronze in 54:05.
Paul Lefebvre of Dunrobin, Ontario won the nine-competitor men’s 60+ category with a time of 57:01, with Stefan Bergstrom of Carp, Ontario taking the silver medal in 1 hour, 4 minutes and 22 seconds. Stow, Massachusetts racer Aims Coney won bronze in 1:05:55. In the women’s 50+ division, Marketa Graham of Ottawa won gold with a time of 58:06, besting Pam James of Windsor, Nova Scotia with a time of 1:05:45 and South Plainfield, New Jersey’s Albina Zakrevski, the bronze medalist, in 1:25:59.
The ski orienteering event was sanctioned by and run in conjunction with Orienteering USA.
For complete ski orienteering results, see empirestatewintergames.com/results and follow us on social media @ESWGames.
The ESWG, sponsored by Community Bank, N.A., is the largest multi-winter amateur sports event in the United States. From Friday Feb. 3-Sunday, Feb. 5, close to 2,200 athletes are scheduled to compete in 23 winter sports in Lake Placid, Saranac Lake, Tupper Lake and Paul Smiths.
For more information, including sport schedule and results, visit empirestatewintergames.com. For photos of the Opening Ceremony and events, see ESWGPhotos.com. You do not have to be a resident of New York State to participate in the Empire State Games, and most sports are open to all levels.
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