Chilliwack’s Reece Howden, one of two B.C. skiers to win gold 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.

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

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

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

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

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.

The Canadian Press