B.C.'s Reece Howden adds ski cross gold to medal haul in France
Canadian teammate Marielle Thompson earns bronze for 3rd straight podium finish
Reece Howden of Cultus Lake, B.C., did one better from his silver-medal performance on Sunday, capturing ski cross gold a day later in Val Thorens, France.
The 22-year-old made some adjustments from Sunday's effort in defeating Ryan Regez of Switzerland Francois Place of France in the head-to-head final.
"Today I had an awesome day, it was a lot of fun," Howden told Alpine Canada. "I was able to achieve a goal I set for myself a long time ago. Hard work pays off."
Howden, who will enter 2021 as the World Cup leader, has been able to devote more time to skiing this season after graduating from the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology in the spring.
WATCH | Reece Howden makes good on gold-medal goal:
"I've got a lot more skiing in this year after finishing a diploma in May, and I'm super stoked it's paying off."
For Thompson, it was the 28-year-old's second bronze medal in as many days.
"Today I tried to be a bit faster on my starts, still ended up having to make a few moves and some pretty good passing," the Whistler, B.C., athlete said. "I'm really happy with how I skied today, and I'm really excited for a break."
WATCH | Marielle Thompson collects 2nd bronze medal in Val Thorens:
Kartrin Ofner of Austria and Daniela Maier of Germany finished first and second ahead of Thompson.
Zoe Chore of Cranbrook, B.C., finished seventh and Courtney Hoffos of Invermere, B.C., 10th.
Ottawa's Hannah Schmidt, who is returning from injury, finished a personal-best 12th in her return from injury.
Extreme winds had forced the cancellation of Saturday's World Cup to Monday.
The Canadian squad will return to World Cup competition Jan. 15 in Montafon, Austria.
With files from The Canadian Press
