January 22, 2007 – The field got stronger with many of Canada’s World Cup skiers taking part in Sunday’s Haywood NorAm races at the Canmore Nordic Centre, but the results were the same. Canadians Phil Widmer and Sarah Daitch both won back-to-back gold medals, and hold the leaders bibs, in the men’s and women’s Madshus Sprint Series.

Widmer, of Banff, Alta., had fast skis all day again on Sunday. The 23-year-old sprinting specialist led the top-30 into the head-to-head heats after posting the fastest qualification time at 2:16.54. The heats consist of the top-30 athletes from the qualification round, with five athletes racing head-to-head. The top-two athletes in each of the six heats move on to the next round. The top two third-place finishers from the quarter-final heats also move into the semifinals based on their qualification times.

Joining Widmer on the silver medal step of the podium for the second straight day was Stefan Kuhn, of Canmore, Alta. Devon Kershaw, of Sudbury, Ont., who has been enjoying a breakthrough season on the World Cup circuit was third.

Meanwhile, Sarah Daitch, of Fort Smith, N.W.T., led the Canadian women around Canmore’s nordic highways. Daitch held off a hard-charging Shayla Swanson, of Calgary, who settled for the silver medal, while Montreal’s Dasha Gaiazova was third.

The Madshus Sprint Series is a development race series in Canada which consists of seven races throughout the season, with the final race staged at the 2007 Canadian Championships.

While Canada’s top able-bodied athletes were sprinting around the Canmore Nordic Centre, the nation’s ParaNordic team was battling treacherous weather at the IPC World Cup in Germany. Shauna Maria Whyte, of Hinton, Alta., was able to fight off nearly three inches of rain which covered the nordic trails on Sunday to claim the bronze medal and her second podium finish of the weekend. Whyte also won a silver medal in Saturday’s sprint races.

“We have been thrilled with the results this weekend, and I continue to get stronger each race,” said Whyte. “I won the qualification round on Saturday and that was a huge accomplishment for me. It is very competitive on the circuit. We all train very hard and the important thing is that it can be anybody’s day at any time so to be on the podium consistently means a lot to me.”

The ParaNordic team has been experiencing less than ideal conditions in Europe and will be receiving news as to when the next World Cup races will take place this season in Europe due to lack of snow.

Top-6 Men’s Results: Haywood NorAm – Madshus Sprints 1.Phil Widmer, Banff, Alta.; 2. Stefan Kuhn, Canmore, Alta.; 3. Devon Kershaw, Sudbury, Ont.; 4. Erik Carleton, Calgary; 5. George Grey, Rossland, B.C.; 6. Graham Nishikawa, Whitehorse.

Top-6 Women’s Results: Haywood NorAm – Madshus Sprints 1. Sarah Daitch, Fort Smith, NWT.; 2. Shayla Swanson, Calgary; 3. Dasha Gaiazova, Montreal; 4. Karla Mika, Duntroon, Ont.; 5. Tasha Betcherman, Thunder Bay, Ont.; 6. Tara Whitten, Edmonton.*****