Marielle Thompson's gold highlights 4-medal day for Canada's ski cross team
Kris Mahler takes silver, Courtney Hoffos and Brady Leman bronze in Austria
Canada's ski cross team continued to rack up medals on the World Cup circuit in with four Canadians capturing medals on Saturday in Montafon, Austria, including gold for Marielle Thompson.
On the men's side, Kris Mahler — who took his first-career World Cup gold in the men's final last weekend — won silver, followed by teammate Brady Leman in the bronze-medal position.
In varying weather conditions, Thompson combined her experience and race preparation to pull out the victory.
"I've grown up being ready to ski in every condition thrown at me," she told Alpine Canada. "It was really foggy in the semifinal and final, but I just needed to trust that I knew the course and it paid off."
Leman, the 2018 Olympic champion from Calgary, rebounded after a tough start to the season.
Preparation, training key to success
"Today was an interesting race," he said. "Really tough weather and tough conditions. I tried to take every run as it came.
Canada assistant coach Sead Causevic believes preparation and training has set the team apart from the competition early in the season.
"While we may not, ultimately, have the fastest skiers," he said, "we make it work through detail oriented preparation and teamwork."
Toronto's Kevin Drury also advanced to the men's small final with his fifth-place performance.
Other Canadian results:
- Zoe Chore (Cranbrook) — 9th
- Abby McEwen (Edmonton) — 16th
- Carson Cook (Edmonton) — 31st
- Ned Ireland (Lake Country, B.C.) — 32nd
- Chris Del Bosco (Montreal) — 46th
- Zach Belczyk (Banff, Alta.) — 53rd
Canada looks to extend its successful run on Tuesday as the Cross Alps Tour moves to Arosa, Switzerland.