Two seasons ago Catriona Le May Doan of Saskatoon emerged as one of the top sprinters in the world. She won six World Cup medals and placed third in the 500 metre standings. She capped the campaign with gold in the same event at the world sprint championships. In 1996-97, she posted respectable World Cup results but stepped on the podium only once. She did take a silver however at the world sprint championships, the most important meet of the year. "I improved in a lot of areas last year," said Le May Doan, 27, a born-again Christian. "Even though on paper it says it isn't as good as the year before I was definitely very satisfied with the season. I think I've made a big step towards this winter." Le May Doan's 1994 Olympic experience is one she'd rather forget. She simply went out too fast and crashed early in the 500 metre race.
  Her first World Cup medal, a third place finish at the 1992-93 season opener in Japan, ended a five-year medal drought for Canadian women in international competition. An all around athlete, she competed at the Canada Summer Games in 1993, winning two bronze medals and one silver in track and field.