December 15, 2003 – Canada's Milaine Theriault took the next major step on Sunday in her quest to get beck into top international racing form since giving birth to a baby boy this summer. The three-time Olympian from St. Quentin, N.B., was the fastest woman to whip around the five-kilometre track set out in the nordic area of CODA's Canada Olympic Park in Calgary. The 30-year-old Theriault, who traditionally competes on the World Cup circuit with Canada's Beckie Scott and Sara Renner, won her first gold medal since becoming a mom, at the Calgary stop of the Haywood NorAm Canada Cup with a time of 13 minutes 51.79 seconds.

“After a year off to have my baby, my goal for this season was to get back in shape to where I was before,” said Theriault whose partner Robin McKeever, is a guide for his brother, Brian, in disabled cross-country skiing. Brian and Robin captured two gold medals and one silver medal at the 2002 Paralympic Games. “I'm progressing much better than I thought I would have. By the end of this season, I want to be top-three at nationals so I can get back into international competition.”

Montreal's Dasha Gaiazova was not far off the pace set by Theriault in the individual start, grabbing the silver medal, and reclaiming the yellow bib as the overall points leader, with a time of 13:54.62. Chandra Crawford, of Canmore, Alta., continued her sizzling start to the season, landing on the podium in consecutive days with a third-place finish (13:56.74).

Perianne Jones, of Almonte, Ont., continued to prove she is capable of competing with the top women on the continent. Jones won the junior division on Sunday, and was in eighth-spot overall.

Canada's best male cross-country skiers had their sites set on another golden performance, this time in the 10-kilometre individual start. But Russia's Ivan Babikov had other plans, capturing his second gold medal of the season, after handily winning the event with a time of 23:03.19. George Grey, of Rossland, B.C., was the next best skier, and top Canuck to cross the line, finishing 18.44 seconds behind Babikov after posting a time of 23:21.64. Gordon Jewett of Toronto finished third at 23:23.32.

“This is one of the fastest 10-kilometre courses I have ever been on, and it made for an exciting race. The time gaps for the top-10 guys was so small that each little boost of speed over the hills made the difference today, said Grey, who remains the yellow bib leader in the men's division. “Its great to be wearing the yellow bib this early in the season, but the trick is to have it when we get to the trails later on in the year.”

Dave Nighbor, of North Bay, Ont., continues to be the top junior on the circuit. The 19-year-old won the junior division today, and finished 13th overall. Complete results of Sunday's Haywood NorAm Canada Cup in Calgary can be found at http://www.foothillsnordic.ca/ . The next stop on the Haywood NorAm Canada Cup, the premiere development cross-country ski race series on the continent, is set for Kelowna, B.C., December 18-21, 2003.