February 5, 2004 – Canada's Perianne Jones bounced back after a difficult opening day earlier this week at the Nordic Junior World Ski Championships in Stryn, Norway to finish in 22nd place in a 5K skate-ski competition on Thursday against the world's top junior cross-country skiers.

“This was a fantastic day for me because everything came together,” said Jones, who is making her second trip to the World Junior event, and was focused on making the top-30 this week. “I was looking to put Tuesday's disaster behind me and redeem myself today.”

The 18-year-old, Almonte, Ont. native powered her way through the track, blanketed in hard-packed snow with variable slushy spots, in a time of 13 minutes 56.4 seconds, just 10 seconds off 15th spot, and 50 seconds behind the leading pace. Jones made up a great deal of time on the front runners on each of the three steep hills that highlight the Norway track.

“Our team is much stronger skating up and down the steep hills out here than the Europeans,” said Jones. “But I need to continue working on my starts and mental preparation if I want to make up the extra time to get me into the top-15 and challenge the leaders.”

It was another day of experience chalked up for the remaining three Canadian women in a field of 76 athletes who suited up on Thursday. Amanda Ammar, of St. Albert, Alta., finished 40th, (14:11.9); Claire Rennie, of Ottawa, was 63rd (14:53.5); and Marcia Birkigt, of Athabasca, Atla., was 72nd (15:31.0).

Russia swept the podium in the women's event. Irina Artemova won her second gold medal of the week in as many events, crossing the line in a time of 13:03.7. Anna Slepova, grabbed the silver medal with a time of 13:17.2, while Valentina Novikova rounded out the top three, grabbing the bronze medal with a time of 13:20.5.

Four Canadian men were among 87 athletes who also competed on Thursday in a 10K skate event. Dave Nighbor, of North, Bay, Ont., was the top Canadian, finishing in 36th spot (26:09.1). Jesse Heckrodt, of Salmon Arm, B.C., was 61st (27:09.0), Calgary's Brent McMurtry was 68th (27:24.8), and Christopher Werrell, of Kelowna, B.C., finished in 70th place (27:26.8).

Germany's Franz Goering, set the pace with a time of 24:19.2, good enough to claim the world title. Kazakhstan's Yevgeniy Koschevoy was close on his heels in second spot with a time of 24:22.2, while Nikolay Morilov, of Russia, grabbed the final spot on the podium with a time of 24:45.8.

The next cross-country skiing event at the Nordic Junior World Championships is Saturday's men's and women's sprint races. The week-long nordic extravaganza continues through to February 8, 2004.

Complete Results: www.jvm-stryn.no