(ck) - In preparation of the Junior World Championships on natural track which took place Feb 3 -5, 2012, Canada and Italy collaborated in a partnership program. The goal was to provide the two Canadian juniors Liam Simmons and Sam Stirrett, who were no beginners but due to school duties a bit rusty, with a coach to bring them up to speed for the Championships. Eventually nobody less than superstar Patrick Pigneter himself worked with the two Canadians. He actually liked the new challenge: “It was fun to work with athletes when they are not only talented, but really want to become better and are willing to work hard for that.” Witnesses by her father, who came all the way to watch his daughter, the 18-year-old Sam Stirrett finished 14th and came to unexpected glories: when she returned home to Hinton (Alberta), her smiling face made the front page of the local newspaper “The Hinton Voice”. Both, the two Canadians as well as Patrick Pigneter do not rule out a future for their partnership. Whereas no world cup starts were planned for the juniors in the current season, this might be a goal for next year, if a longer stay in Europe makes sense also from a school and professional perspective.