After a few weeks off, Canada’s ski cross athletes were right back among the best this morning in Reiteralm, Austria. Marielle Thompson skied to a silver medal finish on Feb. 16, earning her fifth podium in eight races this season and the 57th FIS World Cup medal of her decorated career.
The Whistler-based three-time Olympian now has three silvers to go with two bronze medals in the 2023 campaign.
Thompson again finished behind her biggest rival, Sandra Naeslund of Sweden. The incumbent Olympic ski cross queen has been on a tear since last year's Winter Games in Beijing and has yet to lose a race this season. Germany's Daniela Maier took bronze.
“I’m really happy with how my day went; I showed some really good skiing and had some great speed in the final,” said Thompson in a press release. “Not quite enough to win today, but I’m really happy with second and excited for tomorrow. Hopefully, it will be a good race.”
The 30-year-old got out to a strong start in the final on a relatively flat first segment. Maier and Italy’s Joelle Galli both charged from the back and tried to overtake Thompson, but she was able to hold them off.
Hannah Schmidt of Ottawa, Ont. and Prince George’s Tiana Gairns both qualified for the small final on Thursday, finishing sixth and eighth respectively. Fellow Canadians Courtney Hoffos (Windermere, B.C.) and Abby McEwan (Edmonton, Alta.) saw their days end in the quarterfinals, while Annie Tansley (Calgary, Alta.) and India Sherrett (Cranbrook, B.C.) didn’t make it through qualification.
On the men's side
Toronto’s Kevin Drury narrowly missed out on the podium and finished fourth in the big final. Nonetheless, it was his best result this season and the first time he had cracked the top four since a January 2022 race in Nakiska, Alta. The performance elevated Drury up to 16th in the World Cup rankings.
“It was an awesome day for me, definitely felt more like myself from 2020, pre-broken leg, so it was good to get those feelings back,” Drury said in a release. “I was horrendous out of the start but managed to make some passes every round and got a little unlucky in the final, but I’m really happy with fourth place and looking forward to tomorrow.”
Sweden’s David Moaberg won the men’s race, with Frenchmen Youri Duplesis-Kergomard and Bastien Midol rounding off the podium.
World Cup standings leader Reece Howden of Cultus Lake, B.C. found himself embroiled in a physical quarterfinal battle and was unable to advance, while Kris Mahler (Canmore, Alta.), Brady Leman (Calgary) and Jared Schmidt (Ottawa) were also ousted at that stage. Gavin Rowell (Prince George) didn’t qualify for Thursday’s knockout heats.
“That’s a crazy course [in Austria], a lot of high speed. There’s a lot of turns, a lot of contact, but managed to keep it clean for the most part,” Drury added. “I think tomorrow is going to be a little rowdier. Everyone’s second day likes to charge a little harder; they’ve seen where the passes are and where they need to block, so it’s just about picking apart tomorrow and seeing your opportunities when they come.”
The Canadian ski cross team is back in the start gate on Friday in Reiteralm, taking on their final World Cup race before the FIS World Championships kick off from Feb. 23 to 25 in Bakuriani, Georgia.
