Canadian Brady Leman wins silver at ski cross event in China
Brittany Phelan captures women's small final, finishing 5th overall
Canadian Brady Leman won the silver medal in the men's ski cross event at the freestyle skiing World Cup in China on Saturday.
The 35-year-old Calgary native came second in a three-way photo finish at the Secret Garden Resort during the Olympic test event in lead up to the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
WATCH | Leman second only to Russia's Ridzik in China:
"Super stoked to put down a great race, especially on the Olympic test course," Leman told Alpine Canada. "It's been cool to see all the infrastructure going into the Games, and it got the vibes going early in what was a big event. I'm stoked that I could step up."
Sergey Ridzik of the Russian Olympic Committee finished first. Bastien Midol of France got the bronze medal while Johannes Rohrweck of Austria did not finish the four-men race.
Leman, an Olympic champion at Pyeongchang 2018, overcame a terrifying mountain biking crash in May 2020. He sustained five broken ribs, fractured collarbone and collapsed and punctured lung in the accident.
Phelan wins women's small final
In the women's championship, Canadian Brittany Phelan won the small final, a secondary event to determine the rankings of competitors ousted in the semifinals.
It was the 30-year-old's first competitive appearance since February 2020, when she suffered a knee injury at an event in Megeve, France.
"Fifth place really feels like a first place today," said Phelan, who was fifth overall. "It's been almost two years since I've been in a World Cup start gate, it's been a long hard recovery, and so I couldn't be happier about today."
Fellow Canadian Tiana Gairns finished that same event in fourth and eighth in the overall standings.
Sandra Naeslund of Sweden claimed women's gold ahead of Fanny Smith of Switzerland and Marielle Berger Sabbatel of France, who were second and third, respectively.
The track in Hebei is a new addition to the 14-event World Cup circuit this season, a preview of what the world can expect to see at the Olympics in February.
The next World Cup event is scheduled for Dec. 9-12 in Val Thorens, France.
