March 9, 2005 – Beckie Scott and Sara Renner are proving the Canadian maple leaf is a force to reckon with in the sprint events on the elite
international cross-country skiing circuit. The Canadian duo finished
seventh and 11th in a World Cup sprint event in Drammen, Norway on
Wednesday.

Scott, of Vermilion, Alta., qualified for the round of 16 heats in 10th
spot. The heats consist of four athletes racing simultaneously, with the
top-two athletes crossing the line first moving onto the next round.

The Olympic gold medallist hit the start line in her opening heat against
international speedster, Marit Bjoergen of Norway, and teammate Sara Renner
of Canmore, Alta. Scott won her opening heat, and moved onto the second
round, while teammate Renner, was nipped at the line by Bjoergen. Scott
narrowly missed moving into the final four when she finished third in her
semifinal heat by .1 of a second under warm and summer-like conditions in
Norway, which forced event organizers to haul in truckloads of snow.

“I definitely had some really difficult heats today. The two athletes that
beat me in the semifinals went on to finish second and third so it was a
great day for me. I’ll take a single digit finish whenever I can,” said
Scott, who has consistently placed in the top-10 in both distance and
sprint events over the last month. “I’m knocking on the door of getting
onto the podium, but I am really happy that I am being successful in both
the sprints and distance races. There are not a lot of athletes out here
that are competitive in both.”

The Olympic gold medallist has made at least one trip to the World Cup
podium every year since 2001.

While Scott is still searching for her first podium finish of her condensed
season, Canada’s Sara Renner is now recognized as a threat each time she
steps into her skis. The 28 year old grabbed her first international medal
in the world championship sprint event two weeks ago. Renner was fast again
on Wednesday, qualifying for the round of 16 in seventh position, but her
hopes for another podium were shattered when she finished third in her
opening heat, and was eliminated.

“I fought all the way in a difficult heat that had myself, Beckie (Scott)
and Marit (Bjoergen),” said Renner. “I had a chance to move on, and led
most of the race, but Marit out sprinted me at the line. I’ve had a taste
of the podium, and now I want to be there all the time. Now it is a matter
of staying consistent and doing it time and time again.”

At the end of the day, Finland’s Virpi Kuitunen came out on top of the
podium after sprinting to the gold medal position ahead of two Swedish
women. Lina Andersson settled for the silver medal while teammate, Anna
Dahlberg, settled for third.

It was a difficult day for the two Canadians entered in the men’s sprint,
both failing to qualify for the head-to-head heats. Drew Goldsack of Red
Deer, Alta. led the way for Canada finishing in 38th, while Devon Kershaw
of Sudbury, Ont., who has been turning some heads in his rookie season on
the World Cup, stumbled to 54th after making a costly error during his
qualification sprint.

The Norwegian men continued their dominance of the World Cup sprinting
events, sweeping the top-four spots in front of a throng of hometown
faithful. Tor Arne Hetland led his countrymen to gold, while teammates
Eldar Roenning and Boerre Naess finished second and third respectively.