'I'm speechless' - Schmidt does the Nakiska double
Jan 21, 2024·Ski Cross
Hannah Schmidt made it back-to-back victories on home snow as she won the women's big final for the second day running in Nakiska.
Having won Saturday's event in front of a jubilant Canadian crowd, Schmidt followed it up with more impressive skiing to move through the heats and cross the finish line ahead of France's Marielle Berger Sabbatel in Sunday’s big final. Canada's Brittany Phelan finished in third place for her second podium of the season, while Fanny Smith of Switzerland came in fourth.
"It's been amazing," Schmidt said. "I honestly have no words right now. Back-to-back is pretty cool."
"I'm speechless. It feels amazing to do it, especially on home soil with friends and family here. It's crazy.
"We'll definitely have a special dinner or something tonight and celebrate a little bit. We fly over to Switzerland tomorrow morning, so a quick turnaround but I'll definitely celebrate a little bit."
Phelan said: "It's awesome. It was a tough battle for me out there yesterday and today too. To get on the podium with Hannah for the first time too, that was really sweet. Super pumped for her, back-to-back wins on home soil - that was awesome."
Berger Sabbatel, who is still yet to miss a big final this season, remains the overall leader and goes up to 480 points courtesy of her second-place finish, while Schmidt has moved into second place on 469 points.
Sandra Naeslund, who pulled out of Saturday's event at the semi-final stage after aggravating an existing knee injury earlier in the day, slips down to third overall after not taking part in any racing on Sunday.
"I wanted to win so for sure my goal was to try to pass Hannah and she did a good job to save her first place," Berger Sabbatel said of the big final. "It's never done until the finish line."
Berger Sabbatel is yet to win a race this season but consistent racing and podium appearances have been the key to the 33-year-old leading the way so far.
"I didn't change many things, but maybe just year after year small things and I'm maybe getting better or understanding more things. Maybe I believe more in myself," she added.
Canadian Marielle Thompson won the small final to take fifth, finishing ahead of compatriot India Sherret as well as Switzerland's Sixtine Cousin and Johanna Holzmann of Germany.
Lenherr claims first victory of the season
In the men's section, Switzerland’s Jonas Lenherr claimed his first victory of the season by winning a close big final ahead of German Florian Wilmsmann and France's Youri Duplessis Kergomard, with Austria's Tristan Takats the man to narrowly miss out on a podium place.
"Awesome. Really it's unbelievable. It's great; I'm so happy," Lenherr said of his win.
Lenherr had trailed Wilmsmann throughout the big final, before an impressive pass near the end allowed him to sneak into first place at the crucial end of the race.
“I tried to pass and have a good line and good speed and it worked,” he said. “Amazing."
Asked about his plans for celebrating the occasion, Lenherr said: "We will see. With the team - we are sticking together. We'll watch some football and have some beer."
Swede David Mobaerg won the small final, followed by Alex Fiva of Switzerland, France's Romain Mari and Canadian Carson Cook.
Takats and Duplessis Kergomard closed down some of the distance between themselves and the three leaders in the overall standings, after Jared Schmidt, Terence Tchiknavorian and Reece Howden all ended their respective races at the quarter-final stage on Sunday.
It was a particularly poor weekend for Schmidt who failed to get past the opening race on Saturday, but he remains in first place in the overall standings on 353 points, with Tchiknavorian 61 points behind him in second. Though 61 points is a comfortable cushion, that gap was 135 when the athletes arrived in Nakiska for the first day of qualifying on Thursday.
It means there is plenty still at stake as the skiers head for Switzerland to tackle the next stop, St. Moritz, where qualifying takes place on Saturday 27 January before the races on Sunday 28 January.
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