Kevin Drury of Toronto, Ontario and Canadian Olympic gold medalist Marielle Thompson of Vancouver, British Columbia each won gold medals at a ski cross World Cup in Arosa, Switzerland on Tuesday. It was Drury’s third career World Cup gold medal in men’s ski cross and it was Thompson’s 23rd career World Cup gold medal in women’s ski cross.
In the men’s World Cup ski cross event, Drury finished second to Francois Place of France in the fourth elimination heat, won the quarterfinal heat, finished second to Viktor Andersson of Sweden in the semifinal and then won the men’s big final. Andersson won silver and Alex Fiva of Switzerland won bronze.
Drury currently leads the men’s World Cup ski cross standings with 290 points. Kristofor Mahler of Canmore, Alberta is second with 260 points.
In the women’s World Cup ski cross event, Thompson finished second in the fourth quarterfinal behind Marielle Berger of France and second in the semifinal behind Fanny Smith of Switzerland. Thompson then won the women’s big final with Smith winning silver and Sandra Naeslund of Sweden winning bronze.
Thompson is currently second in the women’s World Cup ski cross standings with 279 points. Naeslund leads with 320 points.
Thompson won the gold medal for Canada in women’s ski cross at the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi. The gold medals for Thompson and Drury in Arosa will give them confidence as they prepare for the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing.
