March 8, 2007 (Whitehorse, YT) – For Cathy Jaques, Heidi Widmer and Marlis Kromm, it was all about team as the three Alberta girls from the Bow Valley shared the podium on sprint day (Tuesday, Mar. 6) at the 2007 Canada Winter Games in Whitehorse.

Jaques was the only woman to crack the 3 minute mark in qualification and continued to dominate through the quarter finals and a second in a photo finish semi final heat. “We had good skis and it is great to have Alberta together on the podium,” stated a tired Jaques at the finish line. For John Jaques, one of Team Alberta’s wax guru’s, the day was long on a number of fronts. “We started this morning with good wax but redid all the skis between the morning and afternoon races. The athletes raced well and it is great to see this group achieve success together,” commented the elder Jaques during the awards ceremony.

In the men’s sprint, Chris Werrell of Burns Lake, BC dominated the finals, finishing comfortably in front of Nicolas Poirier of Joliette, Quebec and Cam Egan of Vernon, BC. Werrell went into the day as the top sprint seed having come off the Western Canadians held in Smithers with his first sprint podium of the season.

The day however was not without drama. In Cam Egan’s quarterfinal heat, he seemed to be comfortably in second when a hard charging Gabriel Landry of Bathurst, NB made a final lunge for the finish line. A third place finish would have placed Egan in the position of having to be one of the two fastest third place finishers in the quarterfinal round to move onto the semi’s. “I got caught not thinking over the last 20 meters and it wasn’t until the finish line that I realized that a 3rd placing wasn’t an automatic berth in the semis,” chuckled Egan just before the medal ceremonies. For Alexia Pichard-Jolicoeur, her 6th place position in the “A” final was disappointing. After a strong 3rd place qualifying time, Pichard-Jolicoeur seemed positioned in the final to challenge the Alberta girls for a spot on the podium but tripped and fell rounding the final corner on the course, eventually settling for 6th.

The sprint day featured a moving presentation to Father Mouchet, the 89 year old architect of The Territorial Experimental Ski Training (TEST) program. TEST has impacted hundreds of youth across Northern Canada for the past 4 decades. In his comments Father Mouchet said his motivation came from the youth he was able to work with. When invited to ski a ceremonial lap on the double lap sprint course, Father Mouchet said he had brought the wrong skis for the skating course and apologized that he’d be a little slower. None the less, the 89 year old completed the course in fine style to the delight of over 500 spectators and well wishers who attended the brief ceremony prior to the beginning of the afternoon heats.

The racers and coaches receive a well deserved rest on Wednesday before the mass start 10 and 15 km skate races scheduled for Thursday. Provincial / Territorial Relays are planned for Friday.

“A” Final Women’s Results

1. Cathy Jaques Canmore AB 02:58.1
2. Heidi Widmer Banff AB 03:01.7
3. Marlis Kromm Calgary AB 03:06.5
4. Natasha Kullas Timmons ON 03:03.3
5. Alana Thomas Barrie ON 03:07.6
6. Alexia Pichard-Jolicoeur St Ferreol les Neiges QC 03:01.4

“A” Final Men’s Results

1. Chris Werrell Burns Lake BC 02:21.5
2. Nicholas Poirier Joliette QC 02:28.8
3. Cam Egan Vernon BC 02:22.6
4. Tyson Smith Calgary AB 02:28.1
5. Julien Nury Quebec City QC 02:25.3
6. Charles Brassard Quebec City QC 02:29.8

Female sprint full results at: www.zone4.ca/results.asp?ID=1278&cat=63

Male sprint full results at: www.zone4.ca/results.asp?ID=1278&cat=64