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December
19 , 2001
CBC Online
Scott
wins bronze at cross-country World Cup
CBC SPORTS ONLINE - Beckie Scott of Vermillion, Alta., skied
to a bronze medal in a World Cup cross-country sprint race
Wednesday to lead a strong Canadian contingent to their
best-ever performance in the sport.
"Things
are going really well this season," said Scott. "This
was what I was looking forward to and hoping for when I
started the World Cup season, to open with really good results.
"And
it's happening, so I know everything is on track. I'm just
looking forward to more."
Bente
Skari of Norway won the event, her fourth World Cup title
of the season, while Petra Majdic of Slovenia placed second.
Scott
registered her second-ever podium finish on the World Cup
circuit, while two other Canadians finished in the top 10.
Milaine
Theriault of St. Quentin, N.B., finished eighth, while Sara
Renner of Canmore, Alta., was ninth at the event in Asiago,
Italy.
"I'm
really excited about the result," said Scott, who finished
15th overall on last season's World Cup standings. "It
was a great day for all of us, the whole team did outstanding."
Scott,
who has qualified for the 2002 Salt Lake Olympics, became
only the second woman and third Canadian ever to win an
individual World Cup medal in cross-country skiing.
Scott,
29, won bronze last season at Soldier Hollow, Utah.
"For
sure, this is a real boost going into the Olympics,"
she said.
"My
goal is to just perform the best I've ever performed, hopefully,
and we'll see what the results bring."
Norway's
Tor Arne Svartedal won the men's 1.5-kilometre classic sprint,
beating teammate Trond Iverson by 2.8 seconds to clinch
his first World Cup victory.
Germany's
Andreas Schuttler was third, followed by Bjorn Lund of Sweden.
Per
Elofsson of Sweden leads the overall World Cup standings,
despite finishing outside the top 10. He has 349 points
after seven races, 102 points ahead of second place Anders
Aukland of Norway.
Skari
moved atop the overall women's standings with 426 points.
The Czech Republic's Katerina Neumannova is second with
336 points.
reprinted
with permission
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