Canada's India Sherret strikes gold at World Cup ski cross event in Austria

SCHLADMING — India Sherret of Cranbrook, B.C., captured gold Friday, the final day of World Cup ski cross racing competition.

Ottawa’s Hannah Schmidt earned bronze despite a crash with teammate Brittany Phelan, of Mont-Tremblant, Que., who placed fourth.

Schmidt was taken to hospital with a leg injury while Phelan escaped unscathed. Fanny Smith of Switzerland claimed silver.

"I am super happy with the win, but ... I am a little bit frazzled. With the two girls that went down, it's hard not to be concerned about them," Sherret said after the race. "I saw Brit ski down, but obviously, I am worried about Hannah. Hopefully, they are OK — and after that, I will let myself be happy."

Alpine Canada says Schmidt will return to Canada for further evaluation.

Friday's result marked a reverse of Thursday's final, where Schmidt took gold, Smith earned silver, and Sherret finished with bronze.

The victory, Sherret's third of the season, moved her into first place in the overall standings, ahead of Germany's Danielle Maier. Teammate Marielle Thompson, of Whistler, B.C., is third.

"I’ve been doing a pretty good job of skiing relaxed, knowing my plan and executing," Sherret said. "This is my first time leading the overall standings so I’m pretty excited, but trying not to spend too much time thinking about it as I know I need to keep focus on my racing.”

Toronto's Kevin Drury collected bronze in Friday's men’s final, finishing behind Youri Duplessis Kergomard of France. Simone Deromedis of Italy earned silver.

“It was pretty rough and rowdy out there and I was having fun," said Drury. "I’m really proud of my mental attitude which was to just send it and I was in that flow state where things felt slow, but were fast.”

Kris Mahler, of Canmore, Alta., finished ninth and Ottawa's Jared Schmidt finished 23rd.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 17, 2025.

The Canadian Press