Olympia 2018: Canadian Serwa wins Skicross gold medal

Kelsey Serwa won gold in cross-country skiing at the Pyeongchang Winter Games and continued Canadian dominance in her discipline.

The silver medallist from Sochi in 2014 won the final against her compatriot Brittany Phelan and vice world champion Fanny Smith (Switzerland). World champion Sandra Näslund (Sweden), the dominating athlete of the World Cup winter, only finished fourth.

The only German starter Julia Eichinger (Neureichenau) and the Canadian Marielle Thompson, Olympic champion of Sochi 2014, were eliminated in the round of 16. This means that the German cross-country skiers, like at the 2010 Olympic premiere of their discipline in Vancouver and 2014 in Sochi, will be left empty-handed. Among the men, Paul Eckert (Samerberg) was 18th. best of a German trio.

“I got off to a good start, but then a few small mistakes crept in, which are very annoying because they cost speed,”said Eichinger on ARD. Because of the” slow track after snowfall “I had to watch the others drive away, it just didn’t work anymore, you despair because you can’t move forward.”

Näslund looked at the Smith’s handicapped final and protested, but the racing jury rejected it:”What the hell were you doing there?” called Näslund at the finish line, who had put out her elbow in the fight for the places,”said Näslund in tears.

The former Junior World Champion India Sherret (Canada) crashed in the last 16 and had to be recovered with the rescue sled. Prior to Serwa and Thompson, Canadian Ashleigh McIvor had already won the 2010 Olympic ski cross premiere in Vancouver. The Canadian Brady Leman in Pyeongchang won gold for the men.