March 10, 2006 – Beckie Scott continues to make the most of what will be the final hurrah of her storied career on the World Cup cross-country ski circuit, winning her second medal in two days on Thursday and bumping the Canadian national team’s tally to four medals in three days.

“To do well here is such a great feeling,” said a beaming Scott, shortly after winning the silver medal in the classic sprint finals in Drammen, Norway. “They do such an incredible job with the course and the town, and we had over 30,000 spectators out today. It’s been quite a tough schedule lately with three races in three days, but I can really feel my pacing coming back. I feel like I’m getting better with every race.”

Such an assessment will hardly be music to the ears of her international rivals in light of the strong performance unleashed by the 31-year-old Vermilion, Alta. native on Thursday.

Scott emerged atop the pack after a thrilling photo finish in the quarterfinals that saw her edge out by 0.1 seconds the tandem of Germany’s Manuela Henkel and Sweden’s Britta Norgren, both of whom knotted up with a time of 3:21.3.

A tough field awaited her in semi-final competition, where she squared off against a pair of home country favourites in Hilde G. Pedersen and Marit Bjoergen, the latter of whom is Scott’s primary target for top spot in the overall international standings.

“I had watched Hilde race in the first quarterfinal and my plan was to stay behind her and make a move later on,” said Scott.

A gutsy effort saw Scott catch and surpass Pedersen in the final stretch of the semi-final heat, where she finished first by 0.7 seconds over the second-place Pedersen and almost five seconds ahead of fifth-place Bjoergen.

In the final heat, Scott finished with a time of 3:17.80 to capture the silver medal. Hustling to top spot on the podium was Slovakia’s Majdic Petra, while Pedersen took the bronze medal.

With another piece of World Cup hardware now added to her trophy case, Scott strengthened her second-place position in the overall standings with 790 points. Bjoergen still sits atop the heap with 886 points.

The podium finish also catapulted Scott into second-place in the sprints standings with 296 points, just four ahead of her Norwegian rival Bjoergen and 32 behind current leader Ella Gjoemle, also of Norway.

“I was really happy with the result today and it really sewed up my position in second place,” said Scott, who has also collected two Olympic medals, a gold and silver, over the course of her highly successful career on the cross-country track.

“To be able to finish your career either first or second in the world would be a pretty remarkable achievement,” she added.

In other Canadian results Thursday, Scott’s teammate Sara Renner, her partner in her Olympic silver medal team sprint triumph in Torino, finished 12th overall.

In men’s classic sprints action, the throng of spectators had ample reason for celebration after their compatriots put a stranglehold on the podium. Jens Arne Svartedal, Boerre Naess and Eldar Roenning finished first, second and third, respectively, while another Norwegian competitor, Odd-Bjoern Hjelmeset skied into fourth place.

World Cup cross-country ski action continues in Norway on Saturday with the 30-km women’s and 50-km men’s free mass starts.

Cross Country Canada is the governing body of cross-country skiing in Canada. Its 45,000 members are athletes, coaches and officials, including members of the Canadian Cross-Country Ski Team and Canadian Disabled Cross-Country Ski Team. Cross-country skiing is Canada’s optimal winter sport and recreational activity with more than one million Canadians participating annually.

Complete Results:

Top-5 Women’s Results:
1. Petra Majdic, SLO; 2. Beckie Scott, Vermilion, Alta., CAN; 3. Hilde G. Pedersen, NOR; 4. Justyna Kowalczyk, POL; 5. Manuela Henkel, GER.
Other Canadian Results:
12. Sara Renner, Canmore, Alta.

Top-5 Men’s Results:
1. Jens Arne Svartedal, NOR; 2. Boerre Naess, NOR; 3. Eldar Roenning, NOR; 4. Odd-Bjoern Hjelmeset, NOR; 5. Janusz Krezelok, POL.