Ski Cross, Women

Prior to the 2018 Games, Canada had won the gold medal in the women’s ski cross both times that it had been offered at the Olympics, and Marielle Thompson, the 2014 champion, was present in PyeongChang to defend her title. Her performance had been somewhat uneven in the years since her victory, however, and she had experienced a serious crash just four months prior to the Games that nearly took her out of contention. The favorite, therefore, was probably Sandra Näslund of Sweden, the 2017 World Champion who had been having an excellent season in the lead up to the Olympics. Austria’s Andrea Limbacher, the 2015 World Champion, who would be competing in her third Olympics, was certainly a podium contender as well.

Canada claimed the top three spots in the seeding round, with Thompson in front, followed by Kelsey Serwa and Brittany Phelan. Serwa had been the runner-up at the 2014 Games and had captured the gold medal at the 2016 Winter X Games, but a serious training accident had nearly ended her career in December of 2016. Phelan, on the other hand, was somewhat of an oddity, as she had competed in the 2014 Olympics as an alpine skier, but had switched to freestyle skiing following a series of injuries in 2015. Näslund was still certainly in contention as well, as she finished only 0.02 seconds behind Phelan.

Each round of the ski cross was divided into heats of three competitors, with the top two advancing. Of the favorites, Thompson was the only one not to win her heat, or even survive, in the first round, as she crashed after her skis hit those of another competitor. A similar fate befell Limbacher in the quarterfinals and, while Näslund advanced, she did so only by coming in second to Switzerland’s Fanny Smith, the 2013 World Champion, 2017 runner-up, and 2015 bronze medalist. It was the two remaining Canadians, along with Näslund and Smith, who then advanced to the final. Serwa started off the race strong and never relented, capturing the gold medal and ensuring that the title would remain with the Canadians for the next four years. Näslund was close behind at first, but eventually surrendered her position to Phelan, and then Smith, who ended up taking silver and bronze respectively, leaving the event’s favorite off the podium.