The Yukon trails held gold after all for Brendan Green.

After a disappointing first week of biathlon competition, the 20-year-old Northwest Territories athlete hoped cross-country skiing would bring better luck in Week 2. His wish came true on Thursday, as he was the first across the finish line in the men's 15-kilometre free.

'Everything just kind of came together and it turned out awesome,' said Green, who hails from Hay River but now lives and trains in Canmore, Alta., as a member of the junior national biathlon team.

After standing atop the podium and receiving his gold medal, much to the delight of the dozens who gathered to cheer him on, Green admitted it was all a little bit surprising. Before last year, he had been strictly a biathlon competitor, but once he completed a couple of cross-country races and placed really well, he decided to go all out for the Canada Games.

'I looked at the schedule and saw that they were on two different weeks,' he shrugged, when asked what on earth would possess him to push his body to the limit for two straight weeks.

'I also saw the 15-km skate race and thought I could probably do good at it, so I decided to do both.'

Green said training for two sports and two weeks of tough competition really wasn't much different than training for one. The physical training for biathlon is almost identical to cross-country skiing, he pointed out.

Still, the young athlete came into the Games in Whitehorse believing his best chances at a medal lay in biathlon, where he had the background and experience. Week 1 was where he expected to be donning gold.

But with temperatures in the -30 C degree range, not including wind chill, and events being postponed or outright cancelled, the closest Green got to the podium in biathlon was fourth.

'It was a tough week,' he said. 'It was really cold. I was actually hoping to podium in biathlon, but today makes up for it.'

Green said the weather this week definitely made a difference in his performances, especially on Thursday with the sun shining and temperatures around -15 C.

He skied the 15-km race in 43 minutes, 14.70 seconds just one second ahead of silver medalist Gavin Hamilton from Ontario. Alberta's Curtis Merry took the bronze and was three seconds out of the gold medal spot.

The top Yukon skier was David Greer, who fell on the last loop of the race as he was trying to make a move on the top pack, but still managed to cross the line in seventh place, just 23 seconds behind Green, with a time of 43:37.90.

Fellow Yukoner Sam Lindsey was 21st, John Parry 26th and Colin Abbott 30th. Ray Sabo did not finish the race due to illness. Coach Alain Masson said Sabo has a type of stomach flu.

On the women's side, it was B.C.'s Alysson Marshall taking the gold medal in the 10-km free, with a time of 36 minutes, 49 seconds. Marshall, who wore number 101 at the start gate, said she knew she had to stick with the top pack throughout the race, but she also tried to stay in fourth or fifth spot until the end.

'I'm just really happy,' said the 18-year-old. 'I didn't know I had it even at the end until I finished. I heard a bunch of skiers behind me.'

One of those skiers was Team Yukon's Bryn Knight, who gave it everything she had to get within reach of the podium but fell just short, finishing fifth with a time of 36:53:60.

Also competing for the territory were Emily Nishikawa, who placed 15th, Janelle Greer, who was 22nd, Heidi O'Connor-Brook, who finished 31st, and Sarah Murray, who finished 34th.

'I felt really good,' said Knight. 'I stayed with the front of the pack because I knew that's what I needed to do. I just had a good race.'

It was Knight's second top-five finish of the Games she won bronze in the individual classic on Monday and her third top-12 result. With one event to go, the team relay on Friday, it's safe to say the 2007 Canada Games have been a huge success for the 17-year-old Whitehorse resident.

'I think being on the home course definitely helps,' she stated.

Masson credited Knight's mental focus for her strong showing so far at the Games.

'She's also a very, very dedicated athlete who trains really hard,' said Masson, adding it's not really a big surprise that Knight has done so well at the Games.

She's medalled at the national championships in previous years, he pointed out.

'She had a terrible foot injury and lost a few years of results because of that. I think now, she's just coming back to the level she should be at.'

Greer, said Masson, is more of a surprise, because of the improvement he's made from last season, although he did do very well in January at competitions against some of the best skiers in the country.

Masson said people who are surprised Greer has been placing in the top 10 haven't been paying attention, but admitted he himself wouldn't have guessed there would be medals for his team at these Games.

'If you had told me last week that David would be in the top five and same with Bryn, in any race, I would have said, Whoa, that's optimism.''

Now, the local skiers will take one more shot at another medal, in today's team relay events. Each province and territory will send four women into the 4x3.5-km relay and four men into the 4x5-km relay.

With Sabo out for the rest of the week with the flu, Masson is crossing his fingers no one else on Team Yukon becomes ill, since they're now down to just four male skiers there are no other backup plans.

The relay is already the least predictable of all the races, said Masson, and now sickness is running through all the teams at the Games, so anything could happen.

Green will be representing the N.W.T. in the men's relay Friday, but after that, it's off to Canmore for a few days to train with his coaches before he competes in the national biathlon championships in New Brunswick later this month.

As for his cross-country skiing future...

'This is it,' he stated. 'I'm switching back to biathlon when the Games are over.'

He certainly picked a good way to go out.