Howden wins ski cross gold in Gudauri

Reece Howden raced to a gold medal Saturday at the FIS SKI Cross World Cup event in Gudauri, Georgia. The impressive feat marks his fourth victory this season — his most in a single season since 2021 — and his 15th career win.

Howden won his first three heats before beating Florian Wilmsamann of Germany (silver) and Italy’s Simone Deromedis (bronze) in the final. The 26-year-old Canadian’s victory helped salvage his efforts this weekend after he failed to make it past the first round of knockout heats Friday.

Elsewhere in the event, Jared Schmidt and Gavin Rowell could not advance past the quarterfinals, while Kevin Drury and Kristofor Mahler were eliminated in the round of 16.

The good news didn’t stop with Howden, though. Canadian Courtney Hoffos took home the bronze medal in the women’s event, trailing Italy’s Jole Galli and Switzerland’s Fanny Smith. The performance marks Hoffos’ second podium of the ski season and her eighth career top-three finish.

India Sherret came close to joining Hoffos in the grand final but was eliminated in the semi-final. Sherret returned to win the small final.

Howden’s win moved him up to third in the overall World Cup standings, trailing only Deromedis and Wilmsmann, with 658 points and four races to go. Meanwhile, Sherret stayed on top of the women’s standings with 795 points.

The next two rounds of the World Cup will take place in Craigleith, Ontario, on March 14 and 15.