February 7, 2003 (Stryn, Norway) -Two years may have passed since Canada's Beckie Scott captured the nation's first Olympic gold medal in cross-country skiing, but her feat still has an impact on hundreds of young skiers.

Three of Canada's future Olympians – Perianne Jones, Casey Dyck and Christopher Werrell – all who look up to Scott for inspiration, took a significant step forward in their pursuit of excellence in the sport, finishing in the top-15 in a one-kilometre sprint event at the Nordic Junior World Ski Championships in Stryn, Norway on Saturday. Jones was 13th in women's action, while Dyck was 14th and Werrell was 15th in the men's competition.

“Our junior program has moved forward since Beckie won her medal in 2002,” said Alain Parent, head coach, Canadian Junior Cross-Country Ski Team. “Canadian athletes now believe they can get on the podium and compete with the best in the world.”

Jones, of Almonte, Ont., headed into the World Championship events with a goal of placing in the top-30. The 18-year-old leader of the junior squad, who is making her second appearance at the World Championships, crushed her goal and finished 13th against 71 of the world's best junior female cross-country skiers.

“This result exceeds any expectations I had heading into the week,” said Jones, who qualified for the top-16 in the head-to-head sprint finals in 11th spot. “I had a tough start to the week and I woke up today very excited to race. I calmed my nerves and told myself to go out there and have fun.”

Jones was the lone Canadian woman to qualify for the round of 16, which pits four athletes racing head-to-head in each heat, with the top-two crossing the line advancing towards the final. At the end of the day, it was Norway's Astrid Oevstedal who was standing on top of the podium and capturing the world sprint title. Sweden's Ida Ingemarsdotter was second, while Russia's Valentina Novikova grabbed her second straight bronze medal.

In men's competition, Calgary's Casey Dyck and Christopher Werrell, of Kelowna, B.C., the only two Canadians to qualify for the round of 16, appeared to be skiing fast enough to contend for the podium after finishing sixth and ninth respectively in the qualification round. Both athletes crashed in a rough quarterfinal heat, but settled for a solid result.

Sweden's Robin Bryntesson survived the battle to the finish and won the gold. Finland's Ville Verkama was second, while Martin Stockinger rounded out the top-three and settled for the bronze medal.

Other Canadian results included: Amanda Ammar, of St. Albert, Alta., (45); Claire Rennie, of Ottawa, (52); and Crystin Jacques, of Edmonton, (55). In the men's event, David Nighbor, of North Bay, Ont., (23); and Calgary's Brent McMurtry was 37th.

While the Canadian juniors grabbed inspiration from Beckie Scott, the leader of the Canadian Cross-Country Ski Team was making tracks of her own in World Cup action on Saturday in La Clusaz, France, competing in a 4 x 10-kilometre relay. While Canada has only two women on the World Cup circuit, Scott and Sara Renner, the two teamed up with a pair of Norwegian athletes to post an unofficial eighth-place result in the relay. Canada suited up a team of four in the men's competition as Adam Kates, of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., and Gordon Jewett, of Toronto, who are in Europe preparing for an Opa Continental Cup event, joined up with Canada's young World Cup men's duo of Chris Jeffries, of Chelsea, Que., and George Grey, of Rossland, B.C. The Canadian foursome were in tough on Saturday against the world's elite and finished 14th with a time of 1:55:19.2.

“This course out here is ridiculously tough and were happy to ski as well as we did today,” said Jeffries. “It is much different out here on the World Cup >from competing at home, because a poor race translates into a bad result. At the NorAm level in Canada, you can still post a good result even if you make some mistakes.”

France was the winners on the men's side with a time of 1:47:49.4. Germany grabbed the silver medal (1:47:49.7), while Russia settled for the bronze medal (1:47:50.1).

For complete results of the Nordic Junior World Ski Championships, please visit www..jvm-stryn.no on the Internet. Complete World Cup results can also be found on the Internet at <http://www.fis-ski.com/calendar/event.php?id=12402>http://www.fis-ski.com/calen dar/event.php?id=12402.