(Montreal) For a second World Cup in a row in ski cross, Hannah and Jared Schmidt both found their way to the podium on Thursday in Italy. The former won a bronze medal and her brother then scored a third victory in a row; the first three of his career.
Both skiers benefited from Jared’s success in Val Thorens two weeks ago. A few days later, in Arosa, Hannah Schmidt wanted to demonstrate that she too was capable of it. This is what she did by winning in turn.
His first World Cup victory gave Jared a lot of energy ahead of the men’s final which he ultimately won. Rare are the opportunities to see a brother and sister decorated with gold on the same day and the gold medalist absolutely wanted to seize this chance.
By encouraging each other and pushing their limits, the brother-sister duo managed to stand out once again on Thursday in Innichen.
“We are there for each other and seeing him win gold in Val Thorens really motivated me to push the following week,” Hannah Schmidt told Sportcom. She also had an excellent start in Switzerland, to her great surprise.
“I wasn’t expecting that, but something clicked. My departures have never been my strength. I know I need to make good turns and overtakes during the race (to compensate),” she said.
This was his strategy in the grand final on Thursday. Arriving at the bottom of the track, Hannah Schmidt felt the presence of Frenchwoman Marielle Berger at her side.
“I stretched my whole body! I didn’t know if I got the medal, but it was a really good effort. When we received the confirmation, I was really happy to get another podium. »
Swede Sandra Naeslund and Switzerland’s Fanny Smith received gold and silver. Also in action, Quebecer Brittany Phelan took fourth place in the small final and finished eighth in the final ranking.
Hannah Schmidt thus found herself on a World Cup podium for the third time in her career. Over the past few seasons, the 29-year-old skier has often mentioned wanting to gain experience against the world’s elite. Her recent performances have proven to her that she is now one of them.
“I’m confident in my skiing and I know I’m competing with the best in the world in ski cross. I proved that I had my place with them and that’s very reassuring,” Schmidt said.
Before the start of this season, his fourth in the World Cup, Jared Schmidt had won two bronze medals on the circuit. Now he is on a three-fight winning streak.
Victorious in Val Thorens and Arosa earlier in December, Schmidt won against the French Nicolas Raffort and Youri Duplessis Kergomard on Thursday in the grand final. He was ahead from the start of the race, then his opponents caught up with him in the last portion of the course. Unbalanced, he propelled himself forward to narrowly beat Raffort and capture the gold medal.
“I feel really good! Three in a row, those are the moments we work so hard for and it’s good to accomplish that,” commented Jared Schmidt at the FIS microphone.
” I have no words ! As I said in Arosa, I think the Canadian team is skiing really well and we showed our strength today (Thursday). »
Other races are planned in Innichen on Friday at the conclusion of this third World Cup of the season.
