March 5, 2005 – Canada’s Perianne Jones grabbed her third national
title of the week on Friday after winning the junior women’s 1.3 kilometre
sprint classic at the Canadian Cross-Country Ski Championships in Prince
George, B.C.

The 20-year-old from Almonte, Ont. dominated the four-heat event, despite
racing through thick slush due to soaring temperatures and blistering sun,
crossing the finish line first in every race. Today’s classic sprint
consisted of 16 athletes competing in each heat, with the top two moving on
to the next round until a national champion is crowned.

“I just tried to control the race from the very beginning and I think it
worked to my advantage in the end,” said Jones, who claimed gold in both
the individual and pursuit events earlier in the week. “I feel good about
my win today. I started out quite strong at the beginning of the Canadian
Championships and was on top of my game, but today I felt a little bit
tired. It wasn’t my best day, but it worked out in the end.”

The events at this year’s Canadian Championships will decide who will
compete at the World Junior Ski Championships later this month, with Jones
unofficially solidifying her spot on the team.

“This will be my last season as a junior and I want to better my
performance of 13th place last year at the junior world championships,”
said Jones. “The seniors have set an amazing standard for us as Canadians
on the international stage, and hopefully we will follow in their paths.”

Chandra Crawford of Canmore, Alta., and Sean Crooks, Thunder Bay, Ont.,
took home the gold medals in the open events to claim the overall Madshus
sprint competition titles. Crawford, 21, who is quickly becoming one of the
country’s most prolific cross-country sprint skiers, narrowly edged out
teammate Dasha Gaiazova of Montreal to cross the finish line first in the
race to the wire.

“Although I was leading in all my heats today, I had to work very hard to
beat Dasha (Gaiazova),” said Crawford, who claimed the five-event Madshus
sprint series, which is a development level race circuit which has help
Canada emerge as one of the strongest sprint teams on the globe. “She
caught up to me in the end and it was dash to the finish line. It
definitely took every last drop of my energy.”

Crawford’s gold medal victory capped off a successful season, which saw her compete in her rookie stint on the World Cup stage.

Other sprint title holders on Friday included: Chris Werrell, of Burns Lake
B.C., who won the 1.3 kilometre junior men’s division; Bibiane Mahy,
Timmins, Ont., who took home the gold medal in the junior girl’s event;
Quebec City’s Anthony Gauvin, who crossed the finish line in first in the
junior boy’s race; Emily Nishikawa, Whitehorse, Yukon, who claimed gold in
the 0.85 kilometre juvenile girl’s event; and Evan Bruce, of Banff, Alta.,
who rounded out the top of the podium in the 0.85 kilometre juvenile boy’s
event.