January 6, 2003 – Canada's Chris Jeffries had all cylinders firing on Tuesday as he powerfully skated his way through a 10-kilometre course packed with 210 athletes from around the world to finish second at the 2004 U.S. Cross-Country Ski Championships in Rumford, Maine.

The 26-year-old Jeffries, of Chelsea, Que., blazed his way to the second step on the podium in a time of 23 minutes 9.8 seconds, just 10 seconds back of the leading mark.

“I'm really happy with today because I was able to put it all together and have my strongest race of the season,” said the four-year national team veteran, who is battling back from an early season injury. “This is by far the toughest event of the year, and it is impressive to see how our Canadian men's team has done as a group. In the past, the Americans have embarrassed us in major competitions, and it is nice to come down to their national championships and embarrass them a little.”

Jeffries led his Canadian teammates to their best ever showing at a U.S. Championship event. The Canadian men were stacked at the top of the results, grabbing six of the top-10 spots. Other Canadian results included: Devon Kershaw, of Sudbury, Ont., who was fifth in a time of 23:43.5; Gordon Jewett, of Toronto, finished sixth (23:47.5); Dan Roycroft, of Port Sydney, Ont., was seventh (23:52.8); George Grey, of Rossland, B.C., was eighth (23:57.5); while Adam Kates, of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., finished ninth (23:59.1).

Carl Swenson, of the United States, defended his home turf by taking gold in the 10-kilometre free technique event, posting a time of 22:58.2. While Jeffries was able to grab the silver, Russia's Ivan Babikov, who recently moved to Canada to compete on the Haywood NorAm Canada Cup circuit, grabbed the bronze after crossing the finish line at 23:25.8.

A strong international field also lined up in the women's event, but it was a familiar face on the top spot of the podium. Rebecca Dussault, of the United States, repeated yesterday's classic gold medal performance by winning today's five-kilometre free technique competition with a time of 12:49.2. Sigrid Aas, of Norway, was second (13:08.8), while Estonia's Jana Reheema rounded out the top-three (13:18.2).

Canada's cross-country skiing women were also in action. Montreal's Dasha Gaiazova was the leading Canadian on the day. Gaiazova narrowly missed the podium and finished in fourth place with a time of 13:19.4. Edmonton's Tara Whitten nailed down the final spot in the top-10, posting a time of 13:35.3, while Rebecca Laakso, of Thunder Bay, Ont., was just behind Whitten in 11th spot (13:43.3).

Men's Results: 1. United States      Carl Swenson       22:58.2 2. Canada          Chris Jeffries      23:09.8 3. Russia          Ivan Babikov       23:25.8 4. United States      Andrew Jonhson      23:37.0 5. Canada          Devon Kershaw      23:43.5 6. Canada          Gordon Jewett      23:47.5 7. Canada          Dan Roycroft       23:52.8 8. Canada          George Grey       23:57.5 9. Canada          Adam Kates        23:59.1 10. United States      Lars Flora        24:04.6

Women's Results: 1. United States      Rebecca Dussault     12:49.2 2. Norway          Sigrid Aas        13:08.8 3. Estonia         Jana Reheema       13:18.2 4. Canada          Dasha Gaiazova      13:19.4 5. United States      Sarah Konrad       13:24.9 6. United States      Wendy Wagner       13:26.1 7. United States      Audrey Smith       13:30.0 8. United States      Kikkan Randall     13:32.2 9. Estonia         Katrin Smigun      13:33.9 10. Canada          Tara Whitten       13:35.3