December 19, 2003 – The sun rose and set with a golden glare on Canada's cross-country ski athletes Thursday. While Canadians from coast-to-coast woke to the early-morning news that Beckie Scott, of Vermillion, Alta., had officially completed the longest race in history, and will finally have an Olympic gold medal placed around her neck, her teammate Devon Kershaw, of Sudbury, Ont., ended the gold medal-winning day by grabbing one himself in the Madshus Sprints at the Haywood NorAm Canada Cup, presented by Telemark Cross-Country Ski Club, in Kelowna, B.C.

While Kershaw's sprint to gold was much quicker than Scott's, the finish was similar. Kershaw was declared the winner of the race after a photo finish showed he edged out teammate George Grey, of Rossland, B.C., by half a boot. The victory marks the second-consecutive golden performance in the Madshus Sprints for the 20-year-old, who will celebrate his 21st birthday on Saturday.

“I'm thrilled to win again. This time last year I was not a great sprinter, and now I've made five straight sprint finals,” said Kershaw, who was also excited to hear the news of Beckie Scott's medal decision before his competition. “It gives us closure to something that Beckie deserved, and the whole team is excited for her. For the men's program, it shows us young guys what Beckie was able to accomplish in Salt Lake City with a great team behind her, and this could be the end result for our men's team if we stick together and continue working hard as a team towards future Olympics.”

Both Kershaw and Grey are at the core of putting Canada's men's team back on the international cross-country skiing map. While Kershaw narrowed out Grey for the gold, it was Drew Goldsack, of Red Deer, Alta., taking home the bronze. Gordon Jewett, of Toronto, finished fourth in the final race. Chris Jeffries, of Chelsea, Que., and Sean Crooks, of Thunder Bay, Ont., who finished fifth and sixth respectively, round out Canada's male cross-country skiers focused on qualifying for the 2006 Olympic Winter Games.

There were 82 male athletes from Canada, United States, Russia and Japan qualifying to compete in the final 16. The finals consist of four heats of four athletes, with the top-two athletes in each heat moving onto the next round.Canada was well represented in the 16 athletes that qualified for the finals in both the men and women's divisions. The Canadian women looking to follow Beckie Scott's pursuit of excellence were ripping up the trails in the women's division. Christine Bisson, of Quebec City, took home the gold, while Becky Laakso, of Thunder Bay, Ont., grabbed the silver and Edmonton's Tara Whitten, a rookie on the Senior Cross-Country Ski Team, grabbed the bronze in a field of 52 athletes. Milaine Theriault, of St. Quentin, N.B., an Olympic teammate of Beckie Scott's at the 2002 Winter Games, slipped up in the final to finish fourth.

In conjunction with the Haywood NorAm Canada Cup, the Kelowna stop on the circuit is also a qualifying race to choose five young Canadian men and women to form the national team that will head to the World Juniors in Stryn, Norway, February 2-8, 2004. Dave Nighbor, of North Bay, Ont., and Perianne Jones, of Almonte, Ont., both received spots on the team after posting the fastest junior qualifying times on Thursday. The remainder of the team will be decided on Sunday. The Haywood NorAm Canada Cup continues on Saturday with a 10-kilometre individual start race for the men and a five-kilometre individual start competition for the women.

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 two million Canadians participating annually.

Top-8 Men's Results:

1. Devon Kershaw      Sudbury, Ont.
2. George Grey       Rossland, B.C.
3. Drew Goldsack      Red Deer, Alta.
4. Gordon Jewett      Toronto
5. Chris Jeffries     Chelsea, Que.
6. Sean Crooks       Thunder Bay, Ont.
7. David Nighbor      North Bay, Ont.
8. Vincent Renart     Mt. Orford, Que.

Top-8 Women's Results:

1. Christine Bisson        Quebec City
2. Becky Laakso      Thunder Bay, Ont.
3. Tara Whitten      Edmonton
4. Milaine Theriault        St. Quentin, N.B.
5. Sara Daitch       Calgary, Alta.
6. Perianne Jones     Almonte, Ont.
7. Gabrielle Nadeau    Quebec City
8. Christin Jaques     Canmore, Alta.