ALLEGHE, Italy — 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).
France's Marielle Berger Sabbatel finished fourth, missing a chance to make a jump in the overall standings.
It's the fourth World Cup podium for the 27-year-old Sherret, and the first since a bronze in Val Thorens, France, on Dec. 6, 2019.
"I don't even really know what I'm feeling right now, I feel so proud and so thankful," Sherret said.
"It's been four years since I've been on a podium and it's been a rough go but I know that I've always had it in there … I'm really grateful for everyone that's continued to believe in me — team, family, friends, sponsors. I really couldn't have done it without any of them."
Sherret was the only Canadian to qualify for the big final, with her teammates taking the top three spots in the small final and finishing fifth through seventh.
Sherret said after the race there were "so many times where I questioned whether or not it was worth it."
"But in my heart I always know that I love this sport," she said. "So it's made every hard moment worth it. I'm just so happy that all the work has paid off."
Marielle Thompson of Whistler, B.C., the 2014 Olympic gold medallist and 2017 World Cup overall winner, won the small final and finished fifth. Brittany Phelan of Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts, Que., was sixth and this year's overall leader, Hannah Schmidt of Ottawa, was seventh.
Seventh place was enough for Schmidt to hang onto the overall lead, but there is now only a little over 50 points between her, Berger Sabbatel and Thompson in the top three.
In the men's big final, Sweden’s Erik Mobaerg finished first for his first World Cup gold medal.
Reece Howden of Chilliwack, B.C., was the top Canadian in fifth, which was enough to climb into first place in the men's standings after Ottawa's Jared Schmidt failed to get out of the heats.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 2, 2024.
The Canadian Press
