In a sport loaded with uncertainty, Sandra Naeslund of Sweden has clearly figured out how to succeed invariably. She put on a clinic Thursday in the women's ski cross big final, claiming Olympic gold at the 2022 Winter Games for her 10th major title of the season.
The two-time world champion led the entire medal-deciding race from start gate to finish, and earlier cruised through the bracket with wins in her semifinal, quarterfinal and eighth-final, while also clocking the top time in seeding by nearly two seconds.
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"It’s always hard coming into one race when it counts the most," Naeslund said. "You've been doing well all season and here it is. I'm so happy I managed to ski well and keep the lead."
Switzerland's Fanny Smith initially finished in third, repeating her 2018 result, but after a review, officials ranked her last due to apparent contact and promoted German Daniela Maier to bronze. Smith was second to Naeslund in five of her nine World Cup victories this season.
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"I just saw that Fanny had more speed than Marielle [Thompson] and she had to decide where to go and then I was losing my balance," said Maier, who tore her ACL in January 2021 and returned in the fall. "I'm really sorry for Fanny [Smith] because it's always a weird feeling. I'm so sorry for Fanny because she's a great skier. We fight that hard, we all earn a medal. But that's the result now."
Sochi Olympic champion Thompson of Canada, the only skier other than Naeslund to take first thus far at a 2021-22 World Cup, earned silver for her second career Games medal.
Naeslund, 25, placed fifth at the 2014 Olympics at age 17, missing out on the big final with a DNF in the semifinals. Four years later she took fourth in PyeongChang.
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