Photo: FIS
December 21, 2024
Reece Howden won a gold medal, his second of the season, on Saturday at the Ski Cross World Cup event in Innichen, Italy.
Originally from Cultus Lake, British Columbia, Howden was the only Canadian to reach the final. He finished first in his heat, in the quarter-finals and semi-finals, before edging out Alex Fiva of Switzerland and Simone Deromedis of Italy in the grand final.
“I was just happy to be able to fix some things today, ski cleaner overall, and go hard,” Howden said. It was the race before Christmas, so there was no need to keep anything in reserve. »
Aged 26, Howden signed his second victory of the season, after a first gold medal in Arosa, Switzerland, earlier this month. This victory marks the 13th of his career.
Howden currently sits second in the men's overall standings with 296 points, behind Germany's Florian Wilmsmann, who has 310.
On the women's side, India Sherret qualified for the grand final on Saturday, but did not finish the race. Hannah Schmidt, Marielle Thompson and Courtney Hoffos took the first three places in the small final.
Sherret is the highest-ranked Canadian in the overall World Cup standings with 325 points, five more than Thompson. German Daniela Maier, gold medalist on Saturday, is in the lead with 369 points.
The next stage of the World Cup will take place on January 14 in Reiteralm, Austria.
