March 23, 2005 – Canada’s Perianne Jones bounced back after a difficult opening day earlier this week at the Nordic Junior World Ski Championships in Rovaniemi, Finland to finish 15th in the women’s sprint competition on Wednesday.

“This was a much better result for me, although my goal was to finish a little higher in the standings,” said Jones of Almonte, Ont., who is making her third trip to the elite junior event on the cross-country ski calendar. “I know I’m up there with the best in the world at this level, it’s too bad I came up a little short.”

The 19-year-old Jones qualified in 14th spot for the round of top-30 heats, which have six athletes racing head-to-head. The top-two athletes move on to the next round. Jones skied a strong leg, but finished third of the six racers in her heat and was quickly eliminated.

Amanda Ammar of Onoway, Alta. was the only other Canadian woman to suit up on Wednesday and also qualified for the six-woman heats. Ammar finished in 27th spot.

The Canadian men also faired well in the sprints. Calgary’s Brent McMurtry led the Canadian charge finishing in 20th spot. McMurtry qualified 27th but made up some ground in the heats to crack the top-20.

“It was a good day and a tough challenge skiing against the world’s best, but I’m pleased with my result,” said McMurtry who also represented Canada at the world juniors last year. “I felt really good on the technical parts of the course, and I know I’m able to compete with these guys. I just need to work a little more on my development.”

Three other Canadian men were among the 80 athletes that hit the start line. Christopher Werrell of Burns Lake, B.C. was 23rd, while Alex Harvey of St. Fereol des Neiges, Que. was 41st and Chris Butler of Thunder Bay, Ont. Was 67th.

The Norwegians dominated both the men’s and women’s sprints, capturing double gold and silver. Even Sletten won the world title in the men’s event. He was joined on the podium by teammate Petter Narthug in the silver medal position and Sweden’s Emil Joensson in third.

Kari Vikhagen Gjeitnes of Norway won the women’s crown. Norway’s Astrid Jacobsen was second and Sweden’s Ida Ingemorsdotter was third.

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.