Yukon orienteers competing at the junior world orienteering championships in Switzerland this week have already improved their performances from last year.

At her fourth junior worlds, Pia Blake leads a team that features three Yukoners. Her brother Leif is attending his first junior worlds, while Caelan McLean is at his second.

Junior Worlds opened Sunday with the first of four events, the sprint. The course was set on the Scuol map and had orienteers navigating an urban environment, typical of a sprint course.

The women’s course was 3.3 kilometres long, while the men’s extended another 400 metres. Pia Blake finished 114th, about four minutes behind the leaders, while teammate Emma Waddington was the top Canadian lady in 30th.

On the men’s side, Leif Blake was the top Yukoner to finish in 134th, while Caelan McLean was 153rd.

Monday, athletes woke up to race on the high altitude long distance course in Val Mustair. At 2,200-metres high, the women’s race was 6.5 kilometres and the men’s was 8.8 and took about an hour to complete.

Waddington (78th) was once again the top Canadian, while Pia Blake was 86th. This time McLean (107th) edged out Leif Blake (110th) as the top Yukoner by about a minute.

The orienteers had yesterday off of competition and raced the middle distance qualifiers today, an about three-kilometre long alpine course.

Pia Blake had the strongest performance of the day, finishing 20th, about five and a half minutes behind top qualifier Aebischer Valerie of Switzerland. Blake grabbed the final spot in the A final, which will take place tomorrow on a hilly course with detailed contours and rocky features.

The Junior World Orienteering Championship preview of the course said that runability could be reduced due to vegetation and rocky ground.

Winning times are expected to be around 25 minutes on the 3.1 kilometre course with 17 controls and nearly 200 metres of climbing.

This is the first time a Canadian woman has made the A final since Emily Kemp in 2012.

McLean and Leif Blake also had strong showings in the middle qualifier. McLean finished 44th in his heat and qualified for the C final, while Blake was 28th in his heat and qualified for the B final.

The last event will be the team relay Friday.

The Canadian team spent the week leading up to the event in the Engadin Valley, exploring the terrain and getting used to the altitude and the time-zone change.

Yukon athletes have been in Europe since mid-June, when they competed in Finland’s massive Jukola relay, which featured thousands of international teams. Team Yukon finished in the top third.

Yukoners at orienteering junior worlds

SPRINT

Leif Blake 134th Caelan McLean 153rd Pia Blake 114th

LONG

Caelan McLean 107th Leif Blake 110th Pia Blake 86th

MEDIUM QUALIFIER

HEAT 1

Caelan McLean*** 44th

HEAT 3

Leif Blake** 28th

HEAT 1

Pia Blake* 20th

x: qualifies for A final xx : qualifies for B final xxx: qualifies for C final