Marielle Thompson cruises to 3rd straight World Cup ski cross gold medal
3-time Crystal Globe winner 'Big Air Mar' adds to her lead on the overall standings
Marielle Thompson swept away her competition this weekend at a World Cup ski cross event in Bakuriani, Georgia, claiming gold in the women's big final on Sunday.
The 2014 Olympic champion from Whistler, B.C., is now on a streak of three consecutive wins and has won gold in four of the last five World Cup events this season.
"I feel like my skiing is in a really good place right now. I am looking forward to the rest of the season, going into it with fast skiing and a lot of confidence," Thompson said.
Marielle Berger Sabbatel of France claimed silver for a second consecutive race, while Switzerland's Talina Gantenbein took bronze.
"One more podium, I am very happy with that," Sabbatel said. "It was a good race. Marielle was better, she deserved the win."
WATCH | Thompson takes 2nd gold of the weekend in Georgia:
Thompson, who chalked up her 29th career World Cup victory on Sunday, now has an 82-point lead in the overall season standings as she chases the fourth Crystal Globe of her racing career. There are seven events remaining on the World Cup schedule.
She told Alpine Canada she learned a valuable lesson placing fourth at last year's world championships in Bakuriani.
"I learned that small mistakes can make you lose speed very quickly," Thompson said. "The start [Sunday] was quite important, so I just did my best to be quick and powerful out of the gate and to go from there."
India Sherret made the big final with her teammate Thompson but a big fall caused the Cranbrook, B.C., native to finish in fourth place.
Brittany Phelan, of Mont-Tremblant, Que., was second in the small final to finish sixth overall.
On the men's side, Edmonton's Carson Cook was the top Canadian finisher in 28th.
Ottawa's Jared Schmidt and Reece Howden, of Cultus Lake, B.C., did not advance past qualification.
The World Cup ski cross circuit resumes with the Feb. 24-25 finals in Reiteralm, Austria.
