The four athletes who represented the Yukon at the junior national weightlifting championships in Lachute, Que. last Saturday won seven medals between them.

Emily Quarton, who recently moved to Montreal to enhance her training program, competed in the 63-kg class. Quarton won the silver medal in the snatch, lifting 75 kilograms and the silver in the clean and jerk with a lift of 100 kg. The total of 175 kg also gave Quarton a silver medal overall.

Heather Beecher of Otter Falls, near Haines Junction, lifted in the 75-kg class. She hoisted 57.5 kg in the snatch, winning the bronze medal, and 75 kg in the clean and jerk, giving her the silver medal. Beecher's combined score of 132.5 kg gave her the bronze medal overall.

John Beecher lifted in the 85-kg class. He lifted 77.5 kg in the snatch and 92.5 kg in the clean and jerk, both for fourth place finishes. However, because one athlete boomed out in the clean and jerk, resulting in a zero total, and because of John Beecher's low body weight, his 170 kg total moved him into the bronze medal position.

Kristina Beecher, the youngest of the Otter Falls crew and the youngest athlete at the event, competed in the 53-kg class, which was the largest in numbers of all female categories.

She lifted six for six with personal bests in each lift, and as most seasoned athletes will tell you, 'it doesn't get much better than that.'

The younger Beecher lifted 42.5 kg in the snatch and 57.5 kg in the clean and jerk, for a total of 100 kg. Both lifts and the total placed her in fifth place.

Coaches Scott McCarthy, Leonard Beecher and Jeane Lassen, as well as team leader Brenda Beecher, were all proud of the performances.

'This weekend drained me,' Quarton said in an interview from Montreal Tuesday. 'I haven't been this exhausted after a competition in a long time.'

Quarton was also quite nervous. She got sick the morning of the competition, and felt nauseous all day in part because she ate a big breakfast.

'I'm not used to having a full stomach when I'm nervous,' she laughed.

Despite the nerves, Quarton was happy with her performance.

'My goal was to do 75 and 100 and I did that,' she said. 'I just decided to move up to this weight class (last) Monday. So I knew I probably wouldn't win.'

Quarton lifted in the 58-kg class the previous three years at junior nationals, winning gold each time.

'This year, there were only four competitors (in the 63-kg class), but Christine (gold medal winner) has been to the Commonwealth Games as well as the world championships this past year. And she's been to the Pan Ams too.'

The lifts were all personal records for Quarton. With the Sinclair Formula, a coefficient that makes all lifters equal whether they weigh 48 kg or 120 kg, Quarton came in third overall with a 202.957 Sinclair.

That means she is pretty much guaranteed a spot on the Canadian roster for the junior world championships this summer.

'To qualify for worlds, there's a marker in each weight class,' she explained. 'I don't know how they do it exactly, but they set a marker.

'After figuring it out, I was second. So it's probably just a matter of what spot I'm in on the team.'

There is another chance to qualify for worlds, at the Western Canadian championships in March.

'If I can train hard, put on some muscle, then hopefully I can have a strong finish there,' said Quarton, who won gold in the 58-kg class at the westerns last year, which were held in Whitehorse.

Quarton currently trains five days a week for three hours a session. She used to train six days a week, but for shorter periods.

'This is more realistic,' she stated. 'Because in the Yukon, it took me five minutes to get to training. Here it takes me an hour. Which is why I'm excited for the summer.'

Quarton is considering a return home for the summer.

'I think I'd like to. I haven't made any big decisions though,' she said.

If she does decide to fly home, she will probably train with McCarthy once again.

'I hope so,' she said. 'He was here this weekend and it was great. I'm so glad he came and coached me here.'

Quarton said she's very grateful for McCarthy's support, as well as the support of her parents and Jim Oster at Better Bodies Cross-training Centre.

The next competition for all four junior weightlifters is the Western Canadian championships, which are being held in Edmonton March 27.