Dec. 12 was a banner day for a certain Schmidt family from Ottawa, Ont. as brother Jared and sister Hannah each stood atop their respective World Cup podiums in Arosa, Switzerland.
Hannah dominated her way through the rounds, winning three of four heats. There, fortune smiled upon her as the other big finalists: Marielle Thompson, France's Marielle Berger Sabbatel and Austria's Christina Foedermayr, all went down in the same corner early in the race. That paved the way for Hannah to cruise to the first World Cup victory of her career.
Thompson, Berger Sabbatel and Foedermayr were each awarded a tie for second, giving the two-time Olympic medallist from Whistler her 60th podium result.
Meanwhile, Jared collected his second-ever gold medal in convincing fashion, prevailing in all four of his heats before getting the best of Canadian teammate (and reigning Crystal Globe winner) Reece Howden to win. Erik Mobaerg of Sweden checked in for bronze.
Jared thus continues his hot streak after his first career triumph Dec. 8 in Val Thorens, France.
“I took a lot of motivation from Jared’s win last week,” said Hannah in a press release. “I was determined to prove to myself that I can stand on the top of the podium and I’m super happy that I was able to do it. I got a little lucky in the finals, but this race is so quick, it’s really a sprint and I was pretty dialed in today.”
Likewise, Jared drew strength from his sister's efforts.
“I heard that Hannah won when I was in the start and it gave me a little extra boost,” he said in a release. “I carried a lot of confidence from last week, and I had some good starts today that really helped. It’s a great feeling and to see my sister there is pretty special. The course crew were amazing in getting this race completed today. It was really challenging conditions for everyone and obviously very happy that we were able to race.”
Giving Canada three women in the top eight was Brittany Phelan (Mont-Tremblant, Que.), while on the men’s side Gavin Rowell (Prince George, B.C.) had a career best seventh-place finish. Kris Mahler (Canmore, Alta.) was 10th.
Other men racing in Arosa were Kevin Drury (Toronto, Ont.) in 35th and Carson Cook (Edmonton, Alta.) in 38th.
