Canadian Siblings Celebrate Double Victory at FIS Ski Cross World Cup in Arosa-Lenzerheide, Switzerland, as Canada Claims a Total of 4 Spots on the Podium

Canadian siblings Hannah and Jared Schmidt, from Ottawa, Ontario, shared the rare honor of both winning the FIS Ski Cross World Cup races in Arosa-Lenzerheide, Switzerland. Rounding out the podium on December 12, 2023, were teammates Marielle Thompson, who finished, and Reece Howden, who both took second in the events.

Ski Cross is run in elimination-style heats of four skiers, with the top two skiers advancing to the next round. Jared Schmidt dominated the men’s event, finishing first in all five heats. His sister Hannah won three of her four heats and cruised to her first-ever World Cup victory unchallenged in the women’s Big Final after her three co-competitors were embroiled in a big collision.

When Jared and Hannah were young, the family regularly went to Mont-Tremblant, Quebec, where the siblings eventually joined the ski club and competed alongside each other for several years in alpine racing. They did not get into Ski Cross until later but were extremely successful. In 2022, both qualified for the Beijing Olympic Winter Games. This is the first time the pair has won on the same day. 

“It feels pretty amazing. I would say a little bit of luck was involved but it feels amazing… and with my brother…. It’s a pretty special moment for sure.”
— Hanna Schmidt

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This marks Hannah’s first World Cup victory, and it comes just four days after Jared won his first World Cup race last Friday in Val Thorens, France. Teammate Marielle Thompson finished in equal second along with Austria’s Christina Födermayr and France’s Marielle Berger Sabbatel. The crash enforced the FIS rule that dictates that athletes crashing out of the race are all awarded the same position. It is Thompson’s 60th career World Cup podium in her 123rd start on the circuit. She is the sister of Alpine skier Broderick Thompson, who recently suffered a bad crash during training. 

It is Jared’s second consecutive victory in the Ski Cross World Cup, and it means that the 26-year-old hangs on to the golden leaderbib. Teammate Reece Howden was close behind Schmidt and beat Sweden’s Erik Mobaerg, who finished in third, and Germany’s Tobias Müller, who came in fourth. It is Howden’s 17th career podium and the 25-year-old was last season’s Crystal Globe winner.

Team USA skiers Tyler Wallasch finished in 11th and Christopher Del Bosco in 41st place.

The Ski Cross FIS World Cup moves to Innichen, Italy, where Qualifications and Finals will be held from December 19-22, 2023, before the tour breaks for Christmas. In the new year, the tour will continue in Nakiska, Canada.