Yukon weightlifters Emily Quarton and Jeane Lassen are travelling to Cali, Colombia on Sunday with 18 other members of Team Canada to compete in the Pan Am Championships.

The championships are also the Continental Qualifier for the Olympic Games in Athens this summer. Quarton was initially the first alternate for the women's team but when one of the team members decided not to go, she got the call.

Both Quarton and Lassen lift out of the Better Bodies Olympic Weightlifting Club when in Whitehorse and while they are away training in Quebec, both are out of Les Geants de Montreal. They chose Quebec for training as the province is a powerhouse of Olympic lifting in the country.

'It's really great for the two of them to have each other,' stated Moira Lassen, secretary general for the Canadian Weightlifting Federation Halterophile Canadienne, who is also Jeane Lassen's mother. 'I know it was a very difficult transition for Jeane when she went to train in Quebec, so I know she is trying to make it as easy as possible for Em(ily).'

Lassen said the pair barely knew each other at all when Quarton moved to Montreal but now everyone thinks they are related.

Quarton will compete on Thursday, May 13 in the 63-kilogram class while Lassen will compete the following Friday in the 69-kilogram class. The elder Lassen said the athlete's main goal is to place well in order to gain valuable points for the Canadian team.

There are only two chances for both the male and female teams to gain a spot for the Olympic Games the world championships and the Pan Ams. Neither team qualified at the last world's, which were held in Vancouver last November.

This is Quarton's first time competing as part of the senior national team. When she returns from Colombia on May 16, she will leave for Minsk, Belarus four days later to represent Canada at the junior world weightlifting championships. A special visa was required for the athlete to be allowed into Belarus.

'She's being closely watched by the Canadian technical committee, to see how she'll do (with two competitions in a couple of weeks) and see if she's able to peak at both.

'She's got a good enough base to test herself on it. It's really good that she's going to an Olympic qualifier for the first time. Sometimes this is what happens to really good junior athletes and she's just that.'

Quarton placed 11th in her weight class last year at the junior worlds in Hermasillo, Mexico ó, she was 13th in the snatch and 10th in the clean and jerk. In January, she placed third out of all junior female lifters at the junior Canadian weightlifting championships, and in March 2004 she placed fifth out of all female lifters at the Western Canadian championships.

This summer, both Quarton and Lassen will be returning to Whitehorse Quarton after the national championships June 13-14, her third competition in a month.

'At least nationals are in Montreal, so she can sleep in her own bed,' joked Lassen.

Jeane Lassen will return home after the world university championships in July. Quarton will be working at the Polarettes Gymnastics summer day camp and training under the direction of Yukon coach Scott McCarthy.

Quarton's trip to Colombia is fully funded by the federation due to the extreme importance of the competition. However, the young athlete's trip to Belarus is not. The federation will not support a lifter for two competitions if they are within one month of each other.

This will be her second and last junior world championships, as she turns 20 in August. She needs $3,000 to travel and compete in Belarus and is hoping members of the Yukon communities can help.

'She has incredible potential,' said Lassen. 'She's a targeted athlete for the 2008 Olympics and the 2006 Commonwealth Games.

'The more experience she gets at international competitions with a lot of pressure on her, the better.'

Lassen said the government's high performance applications are in for Yukon athletes, but they do not get adjudicated until June. The $3,000 for Quarton's trip does not include any personal costs. It is for flying, lodging and her subscription to the weightlifting federation.

'In Olympic years, you have to pay a bit more for anti-doping,' explained Lassen.

Contributions can be sent to the Yukon Weightlifting Association, c/o Sport Yukon, at 4061 4th Avenue, and should be made payable to the Yukon Weightlifting Association. A tax receipt will be provided.