Canada’s Marielle Thompson won the silver medal in women’s ski cross at the Beijing Olympics on Thursday.
The North Vancouver native, who won gold at the 2014 Games in Sochi, was the last of four Canadians standing after three elimination rounds and managed to hold on for a medal spot in the final race.
“I just stuck with it,” she said.
“I knew I was fast at the bottom and I knew I could do some single rollers rather than jumping, especially in this fresh snow, so I just stuck with it, didn’t give up till the end and it worked out for me.”
Sweden’s Sandra Naeslund, who dominated throughout the earlier rounds, won the gold well ahead of Thompson.
Switzerland’s Fanny Smith appeared to narrowly win the bronze, but was disqualified after a lengthy post-race review of a point of contact near the finish line.
Daniela Maier of Germany was awarded the bronze medal following Smith’s disqualification.
Canada’s Brittany Phelan — a silver medal winner at the 2018 Games in Pyeongchang — won the small final for an official fifth place ranking, while fellow Canadians Courtney Hoffos and Hannah Schmidt ranked sixth and seventh overall.
Phelan was knocked out in her semifinal heat in a photo finish, dashing her hopes for another spot on the medal podium.
Both Thompson and Phelan returned to the Olympics after devastating injuries earlier this season.
Thompson tore her anterior cruciate ligament in March, disrupting her 2021-22 training plan.
Phelan blew out her knee in February 2020 in Megeve, France, when she overshot a jump and landed on one leg.
–With files from the Canadian Press
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