Canada's Thompson wins third straight World Cup ski cross gold

BAKURIANI, Georgia — Canada's Marielle Thompson won her third consecutive World Cup women's ski cross gold medal on Sunday.

The victory caps a two-gold weekend in Georgia for the Whistler, B.C., native. It was also the fourth win in five races for Thompson, who is the reigning Olympic silver medallist and leads the season standings.

In her 132nd World Cup start, Thompson won all her heats for her 65th World Cup podium and 29th career victory.

“I tried to be better each run today and to ski clean the whole way down,” Thompson said. “I learned from last year at the world championships here that small mistakes can make you lose speed very quickly.

"The start was quite important, so I just did my best to be quick and powerful out of the gate and to go from there.”

France's Marielle Berger Sabbatel and Switzerland's Talina Gantenbein rounded out the podium with silver and bronze, respectively.

India Sherret of Cranbrook, B.C., finished fourth in the final.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 11, 2024.