Reece Howden of Chilliwack, British Columbia recorded his sixth World Cup men’s ski cross victory on Sunday. Howden won the gold medal from Reiteralm, Austria.
It was one of three World Cup ski cross medals Canadians won in Austria on the weekend. In the women’s big air ski cross World Cup event on Sunday, Canadian Olympic gold medalist Marielle Thompson of North Vancouver, British Columbia won the silver medal, and Canadian Olympic silver medalist Brittany Phelan of Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts, Quebec won the bronze medal. Thompson won the gold medal at the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, and Phelan won the bronze medal at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang.
In the men’s big air ski cross event, Ryo Sugai of Japan won the silver medal, and Alex Fiva of Switzerland won the bronze medal. Howden won all four of the races he participated in. As a result of his gold medal, Howden finished in 10th place with 247 points. The World Cup leader is Ryan Regez of Switzerland with 527 points.
In the women’s big air ski cross event, Sandra Naeslund of Sweden won the gold medal. Thompson and Phelan won their quarterfinal heats, while Phelan won her semifinal heat with Thompson placing second behind Naeslund. Thompson is in third place in the women’s World Cup ski cross standings with 469 points, while Phelan is fourth with 408 points. Naeslund is in first with 11050 points.
