Alberta – Team Canada athletes are deep into the winter sports season and this weekend saw some thrilling their supportive home crowds. Hannah Schmidt’s double gold led the haul of five medals for the ski cross team in Nakiska, Alberta while Mikaël Kingsbury bounced back from a rare miss to give the fans in Val St-Come, Quebec the show they were hoping for. It was also a weekend to remember for ski jumpers Alexandria Loutitt and Abigail Strate as well as for snowboarder Liam Brearley as they achieved career firsts. Here’s what you may have missed over the past few days:
Ski Cross: Hannah Schmidt cooks up double gold at home
The Canadian ski cross team had a dream-worthy weekend in Nakiska, capturing a quintet of medals (including three golds) at the FIS Ski Cross World Cup.
On Saturday, Hannah Schmidt of Ottawa picked up her second World Cup win of the season (and her career). After navigating her way through physically competitive heats, in the big final she out-skied fellow Canadian Marielle Thompson, who claimed the silver medal. India Sherret and Brittany Phelan made it to the small final and finished sixth and seventh overall, respectively.
The very next day, Schmidt made it back-to-back victories, securing a second gold medal. This time she was joined on the podium by Phelan who captured the bronze medal. Thompson and Sherret advanced to the small final to finish fifth and sixth, respectively.
On the men’s side, Reece Howden captured his 10th career World Cup win on Saturday. That glorious moment came at the same venue where he earned his first World Cup victory in 2020.
Source: https://olympic.ca/