Avdyushkin claims fourth consecutive Langlauf win

Another year, another Langlauf win for Sergey Avdyushkin.

The 57-year-old from Spokane cruised to victory at the annual Langlauf 10-kilometer cross country ski race on Sunday at Mount Spokane State Park.

It’s the fourth consecutive year that Avdyushkin has won the race. He beat the next closest competitor by 32 seconds.

Rebecca Dussault, a former Olympian from Sagle, was the first female finisher. She finished seventh overall.

More than 180 people competed in the 45th edition of the annual cross country ski race.

Tim Ray, the race director, said low snow conditions meant crews had to haul 12 toboggans of snow onto about 50 feet of the trail to make sure skiers wouldn’t have to navigate a patch of dirt.

Most of the snow was relatively old, which Ray said made for a fast track. He guessed that Avdyushkin might have touched 35 mph on some of the downhills.

“It was probably the second or third fastest race that we’ve had,” Ray said. “It was a very fast day.”

Avdyushkin finished in 29 minutes, 24 seconds – about four minutes faster than his winning time last year. Dussault recorded a time of 33 minutes, 43 seconds.

Dussault, who competed at the 2006 Winter Olympics and is a two-time American Birkebeiner champion, has been the fastest woman at Langlauf several times, most recently in 2024.

Race day was moved up this year to avoid a scheduling conflict with a junior national qualifying race in the Methow Valley that would have prevented members of the Spokane Nordic Association’s race team from participating in Langlauf.

The race results reflected that decision. Kellen McDougall, a member of the Spokane Nordic race team, finished fifth with a time of 31 minutes, 23 seconds. The team’s coach, Jason Halloran, finished eighth with a time of 34 minutes, 17 seconds.

Two former members of the team – Isaac Pooler and Nathan Lambiotte – finished second and third.