February 1, 2006 – Canadian cross-country ski athlete Amanda Ammar
decided to give herself an early birthday present on Thursday, namely
a head-turning performance in the junior women’s five-km classic race
at the FIS World Junior Ski Championships in Medvode, Slovenia.

Ammar, who turns 20 in five days, displayed prowess on the course by
finishing sixth overall and just a shade off a podium result. She
finished the race in a time of 7:15.50, which was only 10 seconds off
the pace set by bronze medal winner, Charlotte Kalla of Sweden, and
44 behind Norway’s Astrid Jacobsen, who claimed the top honour with a
time of 6:52.80.

Next up on Ammar’s competitive calendar is the 2006 Olympic Winter
Games, which kick off February 10. The youngster from Onoway, Alta.
was named to the Olympic Team last month and will join women’s senior
squads veterans Beckie Scott, Sara Renner and Milaine Theriault for
the main event in Torino, Italy.

In other Canadian women’s results Thursday, a trio of newcomers to
the junior squad recorded solid results in the five-km, with Brittany
Webster, Kate Brennan and Hannah Perry finishing 65th, 66th and 82nd,
respectively.

On the junior men’s side of the ledger, the Canucks experienced a
tough day in the 10-km classic race after a sudden weather change
midway through the event left the course in slippery conditions.
Thunder Bay, Ont. native Chris Butler posted the top Canadian result
of the day after skiing to a 56th-place finish, while Frederic
Touchette, Brent McMurtry and Georg Jalkotzy finished 71st, 78th and
83rd, respectively, out of the 100 competitors entered.

Completing a Norwegian gold medal sweep on the day was Petter
Northug, who skied to the top honour in the junior men’s 10-km
classic with a time 8:30.60. Rounding out the top podium spots were
silver medallist Martin Jaks, of the Czech Republic, and
Switzerland’s Dario Alonzo Cologna, who took the bronze.

Cross-country skiing action continues tomorrow in Medvode when the
under-23 athletes glide back into action. Complete results from
today’s competition can be found online at www.jwsc2006.com.