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Thompson takes pair of podiums in Sweden

Sports briefs: Crawford claims first top 10; Blouin fourth at Laax
Sports-Marielle-Thompson-Idre-Fjall
PODIUM APPEARANCE Whistler ski-cross racer Marielle Thompson (right) stands on the FIS World Cup podium at Idre Fjäll, Sweden with winner Fanny Smith of Switzerland (centre) and runner-up Alizee Baron of France (left).

Whistler’s Marielle Thompson banked more needed points as she looks to chase down her fourth FIS Crystal Globe.

The local ski-cross star took two podiums in three tries in World Cup action at Idre Fjäll, Sweden last week.

She kicked things off with a second-place showing on Jan. 20, sandwiched between two Swiss racers, overall leader Fanny Smith in first and Talina Gantenbein in third. 

In the Jan. 23 race, Thompson placed eighth as Tiana Gairns took the top-Canadian mantle in fifth and Courtney Hoffos placed sixth. French racers took the top two spots as Alizee Baron earned the win over Marielle Berger Sabbatel and Smith.

Thompson saw a return to the steps on Jan. 24 after another Smith win while Baron placed second. Hoffos also made the top 10, taking seventh.

On the men’s side, Reece Howden enjoyed a breakout weekend with back-to-back wins. He topped two Swiss racers, Ryan Regez and Jonas Lenherr, on Jan. 24 after coming through ahead of Lenherr and Germany’s Niklas Bachsleitner on Jan. 23. The Jan. 23 race saw another Canadian, Chris Del Bosco, place seventh. Howden kicked off the week with a fifth-place showing on Jan. 20.

Crawford claims first top 10

Whistler Mountain Ski Club (WMSC) grad Jack Crawford posted his career-best result in FIS World Cup action at Kitzbuehel, Austria on Jan. 25.

Crawford charged into the top 10 for the first time, finishing sixth in super-G racing at the venerable track. Crawford was 0.56 seconds off his first podium and 1.11 seconds back of winner Vincent Kriechmayr of Austria. Switzerland’s Marco Odermatt and Matthias Mayer of Austria rounded out the podium. Jeffrey Read (18th) and WMSC grad Brodie Seger (21st) also made the top 30.

“Today was simple I executed my plan and tried to have no expectations,” Crawford said in a release. “This is the first time all the boys have been in the top 30 together and it has to be the best day for us as a team.”

Canadians finished outside the points in both downhill races on Jan. 22 and 24.

In slalom action at Schladming, Austria on Jan. 26, meanwhile, Erik Read took 22nd as Austrian Marco Schwarz topped Clement Noel and Alexis Pinturault, both of France.

In women’s racing, Marie-Michele Gagnon put up a pair of top-15 finishes at Crans Montana, Switzerland.

In the Jan. 23 downhill, she took 11th as Italy’s Sofia Goggia bested Switzerland’s Lara Gut-Behrami and fellow Italian Elena Curtoni.

Gagnon then placed 13th in the Jan. 24 super-G, won by Gut-Behrami over Austria’s Tamara Tippler and Italy’s Federica Brignone.

No Canadians finished in the points at the giant slalom race at Kronplatz, Italy on Jan. 26.

Blouin fourth at Laax

Canadian snowboarder Laurie Blouin narrowly missed the third step in FIS World Cup slopestyle action at Laax, Switzerland on Jan. 22.

Blouin was just 2.22 points off the podium and 12.39 seconds back of winner Jamie Anderson of the United States. Zoi Sadowski Synnott of New Zealand took second and Australian Tess Coady placed third.

No Canadian men made the final.

Meanwhile, Derek Livingston made the halfpipe finals on Jan. 23.

Livingston ended up taking fifth, finishing 24.75 points back of winner Yuto Totsuka of Japan. Australia’s Scotty James and Japan’s Ruka Hirano rounded out the podium. 

No Canadian women cracked the final.