The Yukon's proud history of sending athletes to the Special Olympics will continue next February as Owen Munroe is set to compete as a cross-country skier.

Munroe was recently selected to represent Canada at the ninth Special Olympics World Winter Games, which will be held from Feb. 9-13 in Boise, Idaho.

Munroe's selection to Team Canada was a result of his incredible performance this past February at the Special Olympics Canada Winter Games, which was the qualifier for the World Games.

At the qualifying event, Munroe bested all of his competitors in the 5 km classic race, finishing in first place. Munroe's time in the 5 km race was around five minutes faster than his next closest challenger.

He also managed to achieve a fourth place finish in the 2.5 km classic race at the Special Olympics Canada Winter Games.

What makes his achievement even more impressive is the fact that this was the first time Munroe has competed at the Special Olympics Canada Winter Games.

"I think it is a very big accomplishment," said Serge Michaud, executive director for Special Olympics Yukon.

"You are talking about someone who is 20 years old, who goes to his first national games in the sport of cross-country skiing and qualifies for Team Canada. That's a pretty big accomplishment."

Munroe has been skiing for the past four years and this will be his first time competing at the Special Olympics. He said the race in the 5 km distance last February was his best performance to date in the sport and that he is really proud of himself.

"I was surprised by how well I did," he said. "Five minutes ahead of everybody and I was skiing in a snow blizzard."

He said he is really looking forward to meeting the rest of Team Canada in July when the group will hold a training camp in Toronto. Munroe and 80 other athletes from across the country will represent Canada at the 2009 Special Olympics.

More than 3,000 athletes from 85 countries are set to compete at the ninth edition of the Games.

Munroe said in addition to the competition, he is looking forward to travelling to Boise and doing some sightseeing. This will be his first time in Idaho and his first skiing competition in the U.S.

Presently, Munroe will compete in two events, being the 2.5 km and the 5 km distances, but there is also a strong possibility that he will also be selected to Canada's relay team.

He credits a lot of his success to the work done with ski coach Leah Greenway.

"She just showed me the techniques and she just took me to dry land every Wednesday and Sunday because that way you get muscles built," he said.

Munroe said he would love to win the gold medal at the Special Olympics, but added what's more important is to just try his best.

"(I'm) going to try my best and try and get it," he said. "If I come back with silver it's not a big deal or if I come back with a bronze it's not a big deal or nothing, it's not a big deal. I just want to go there and have fun, don't worry about other people and don't worry about the medals so much."

This has been a great couple of months for Munroe, who besides qualifying to compete at the Special Olympics also graduated from high school on May 31.

Munroe was attending Vanier Catholic Secondary School and presently he is working at Robert's Service Camp Ground.

Michaud credits Munroe's preparation, coaching and his overall willingness to learn as the main reasons that he was able to qualify for the Games.

"He is so committed to doing well and to performing well and he said he doesn't care if he comes back with a medal or not," he said. "It wouldn't be a big deal as long as he has tried and trained hard enough to get to that level. I think it is a real indicator that Owen is a true athlete. He's certainly not there for the money because our athletes don't gain a salary, they are there because they love their sport and for Owen it really is a love, a passion for his sport."

Michaud said it isn't every day that an athlete from the Yukon has an opportunity to compete at the World Games.

"When you talk about Greg or Denise McHale going on to extreme distance championships or even Jeane Lassen going to the Olympics in the fall; these aren't every day occurrences," he said.

"So when we have an athlete like Owen who is going to World Games in February,

it's something that the whole territory should be proud of."