Cultus Lake/Calgary/Serbia (with files from Alpine Canada/CBC) – FEBRUARY 27 UPDATE – In the first FIS Ski Cross World Cup race held in Kopaonik (SRB), Kevin Drury (Toronto, ON) raced to second place for the 20th podium of his World Cup career in his 120th World Cup start.
On a warm winter day under a clear blue sky, Drury had a solid day of racing, placing first in one heat and second in the other two to reach the big final. The big final saw a collision involving all four racers including Reece Howden and resulted in Drury being injured. Drury he was awarded second place, despite not finishing the race
Other Canadian men in action Friday were Reece Howden (Chilliwack, BC) in fourth, Kris Mahler (Canmore, AB) in 16th, and Jared Schmidt (Ottawa, ON) in 19th.
Hannah Schmidt (Ottawa, ON) led the Canadian women with a fourth place finish, just ahead of Marielle Thompson (Whistler, BC) who won the small final to place fifth on the day and Tiana Gairns (Prince George, BC) in 15th.
Howden, 27, was the only competitor to complete the race but was penalized upon review for a line deviation and ranked as last (RAL), putting him into fourth place on the day.
FEBRUARY 25 ORIGINAL STORY – The disappointment of the Ski Cross event at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics has come and gone for Cultus lake’s Reece Howden.
Next up is the World Cup event at Kopaonik, Serbia.
Reece is ranked Number 1 going into the Qualification Round on February 26.
