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Canadian ski cross racer Reece Howden dedicated his World Cup gold-medal win on Saturday to his injured teammate, Kevin Drury.
The victory in Kopaonik, Serbia, was the record-extending 23rd World Cup gold medal for the Cultus Lake, B.C., native, but Howden’s mind was squarely on Drury, who was injured after a crash in Friday’s big final.
In that race, Howden clipped skis with Florian Wilmsmann while jockeying for the lead, leading to Drury crashing into the downed German.Howden was the lone skier to finish that race, but was disqualified for a line deviation at the time of the crash, so Drury ended up taking silver without crossing the finish line.
Friday’s race is expected to be the final competition of the 37-year-old’s career, as Drury was planning on retiring following this season. The Toronto native posted an image of himself on Friday with his right leg fully wrapped and immobilized, with text on the image stating “Not the way I wanted to end my career but I’ll take the podium.”
Speaking after his win on Saturday, Howden called Drury a “role model.”
After his struggles at the Olympics, Reece Howden picked up the 23rd World Cup win of his career on Saturday in Kopaonik, Serbia.
“Today wasn’t about me, it’s about Kevin Drury. I’m pretty broke up by what happened yesterday. I would have loved to spend more time skiing with Kevin Drury. I feel so honoured to have been a teammate with Kevin, shared the podium with him, travelled the world, and got to learn from a guy like that,” Howden said.
“Whether it’s stuff outside of skiing, when it comes to personal life and relationships, Kevin Drury has been a huge role model for me.
“Today I wasn’t doing it for me, I was doing it for him. So when we’re up there and we’re singing ‘O Canada’, don’t be singing ‘O Canada’ for me, sing ‘O Canada’ for Kevin Drury.”
Canada’s Reece Howden captured his 23rd World Cup victory Saturday at the World Cup ski cross races in Kopaonik, Serbia.
Wilmsmann took silver on Saturday, with French skier Youri Duplessis-Kergomard rounding out the podium with bronze.
On the women’s side, Sweden’s Sandra Naeslund captured her her second gold medal in as many big finals in Kopaonik. Joining her on the podium were Germany’s Daniela Maier and Switzerland’s Saskja Lack with silver and bronze medals, respectively.
Ottawa’s Hannah Schmidt was the top Canadian finisher, winning the small final to posting a fifth-place result.
There are three stops left in the World Cup ski cross circuit this season, with the next event set for March 12 in Montafon, Austria.
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