November 29, 2004 – Canada’s George Grey earned a ticket to his first Olympic Winter Games on Sunday after posting one of his strongest results ever on the Cross-Country Ski World Cup in Kuusamo, Finland.

The Rossland, B.C. native, finished 41st in the men’s 15 kilometre classic event, crossing the line with a time of 39 minutes 09.3 seconds. The result qualifies Grey to the Olympic Games by finishing in the top-30 based on counting four athletes per nation.

“It definitely feels good to get it done early in the season, but it doesn’t change my goals,” said the 25-year-old World Cup rookie, who is one of four Canadian men looking to qualify. “I still have a job to do out here and hopefully this will give me an extra push to ski faster and get into the top-25. The summer training is starting to pay off and I’m mentally feeling much stronger to push harder.”

In addition to Grey qualifying for the Games, two-time Olympian Sara Renner is also continuing to pick up her early season pace on the World Cup. The 28-year-old of Canmore, Alta. posted her best result of the season in Finland on Sunday, finishing 23rd in the women’s 10 kilometre classic event with a time of 29:18.2.

“I was extremely fast off the start today and lost some steam in the final two kilometers,” said Renner, who is married to alpine skier, Thomas Grandi. “I have to figure out my limits, but I really need to start hard to get on pace – now it is a matter of learning to finish at the same speed. I am skiing really well and I know it is so tight that if I consistently place in the top-20, I’ll quickly starting climbing into the top-10.”

Germany’s Axel Teichmann won his second medal in as many days in the men’s event, capturing the gold (37:33.2). Russia’s Vassili Rotchev solidified the silver medal with a time of 37:58.0, while Teichmann’s teammate, Rene Sommerfeldt rounded out the top-three at 38:00.3.

Estonia’s Kristina Smigun won the women’s event with a time of 27:47.4, while Katerina Neumannova of the Czech Republic was second at 28:00.4, and Norway’s Marit Bjoergen was third at 28:01.8

Meanwhile, back in Canada the remainder of the nation’s high-performance cross-country skiers were battling it out in the sprint competition in the opening Haywood Canada Cup event of the season. Chandra Crawford of Canmore, Alta. and Devon Kershaw of Sudbury, Ont. won their first gold medals of the season in the men’s and women’s Madshus sprints.

Crawford beat out two-time Olympian, Milaine Theriault of St. Quentin, N.B. in a dash to the line, while Montreal’s Dasha Giazova locked up third spot. Kershaw beat out Chris Jeffries of Chelsea, Que. in the men’s competition for top spot on the podium. Drew Goldsack of Red Deer, Alta. won the bronze medal in the men’s final.

Top-Five and Canadian Women Results: (10 km Classic)
1.Kristina Smigun, EST, 27:47.4; 2. Katerina Neumannova, CZE, 28:00.4; 3. Marit Bjoergen, NOR, 28:01.8; 4. Natalia Baranova-Masolkina, RUS, 28:07.1; 5. Virpi Kuitunen, FIN, 28:07.3.
Canadian Result:
23. Sara Renner, Canmore, Alta., 29:18.2

Top-Five and Canadian Men Results: (15 km Classic)
1.Axel Teichmann, GER, 37:33.2, 2. Vassili Rotchev, RUS, 37:58.0, 3. Rene Sommerfeldt, GER, 38:00.3, 4. Jens Arne Svartedal, NOR, 38:03.2, 5. Jen Filbrich, GER, 38:04.8.
Canadian Result:
41. George Grey, Rossland, B.C., 39:09.3