Marielle Thompson, Reece Howden take home top honours at Ski Cross World Cup

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ALLEGHE, Italy – Two British Columbia residents were triumphant at the FIS Ski Cross World Cup in Italy on Saturday.

Marielle Thompson of Whistler finished first in the women’s race, while Reece Howden of Chilliwack won on the men’s side.

This is the third time in the ski cross season that Canada’s men and women have won races on the same day.

Marielle Thompson of Canada in action during the women's FIS Ski Cross World Cup second qualifying event in Idre, Sweden, Friday Jan. 20, 2023. Two Canadians were triumphant at the FIS Ski Cross World Cup in Italy on Saturday. Thompson, of Whistler, B.C., won the women's race while Reece Howden, of Chilliwack, B.C., won on the men's side.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Anders Wiklund/TT via AP

Marielle Thompson of Canada in action during the women’s FIS Ski Cross World Cup second qualifying event in Idre, Sweden, Friday Jan. 20, 2023. Two Canadians were triumphant at the FIS Ski Cross World Cup in Italy on Saturday. Thompson, of Whistler, B.C., won the women’s race while Reece Howden, of Chilliwack, B.C., won on the men’s side.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Anders Wiklund/TT via AP

Brittany Phelan, of Mont-Tremblant, finished in second place on the women’s side.

The win is Thompson’s second this season and 27th win at the World Cup.

Howden’s victory is his second of the season and gives him 11 wins in his 52 career World Cup starts.

Canada’s India Sherret raced to her first World Cup gold medal at a ski cross event Friday.

Sherret, from Cranbrook, B.C., won the big final in a time of 55.8 seconds, finishing ahead of Swiss skiers Saskja Lack (55.96) and Talina Gantenbein (56.06).

“I wanted to ski smooth today and to improve the starts,” Thompson said of Saturday’s race. “I learned some things from India’s strong starts yesterday and it was enough to pull it off today when there was some fast skiing from my teammates and the rest of the field.,”

“The team is firing right now and we’re ready to keep it going.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 3, 2024.