Jared Schmidt sneaked into the small final again on Sunday in Idre Fjäll, Sweden. It is the first time in his career that he has finished in the individual top 8 at two consecutive Ski Cross World Cups.
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The day before, the athlete from Mont-Tremblant had achieved his best result of the season in fifth place. This time he finished sixth in the event won by fellow countryman Reece Howden.
Swede Erik Mobaerg and German Tobias Müller completed the podium.
Jared Schmidt set the fifth fastest time in qualifying earlier this week. He finished second to Austria’s Mathias Graf in his first two races of the day on Sunday and then finished third in his semi-final run.
In the small final, where fifth place was at stake, Schmidt fought a heated battle against Florian Wilmsmann. Both stretched out their arms at the finish and finally the German skier got the upper hand.
Hannah Schmidt was stopped in the quarterfinals and finished 12th in the women’s event. She finished third in her group behind eventual champion Sandra Naeslund of Sweden and Sonja Gigler of Austria. As with the men, the Canadian team was represented on the podium thanks to Marielle Thompson.
She took bronze by crossing the finish line behind Naeslund and Austria’s Katrin Ofner.
Note that this is Naeslund’s 15th consecutive World Cup win, an International Ski Federation (FIS) record that she now shares with skiers Ingemar Stenmark and Ofner.
With the Megève World Cup scheduled for this week cancelled, Jared and Hannah Schmidt will be back on track in mid-February in Reiteralm, Austria where Sandra Naeslund can write a new page in sporting history.
Despite his first-round selection and success in the little ones, Quebec’s Jakob Pelletier will not have a direct pass with the Calgary Flames, according to Darryl Sutter.