Canada cleans up in Collingwood

THE CANADIAN PRESS

BLUE MOUNTAIN, Ont. -- Marielle Thompson has her first ski cross World Cup gold medal.

The skier from Whistler, B.C., beat Austria's Katrin Ofner, Switzerland's Katrin Mueller and France's Marielle Berger Sabbatel in the women's final Friday at Blue Mountain, the lone Canadian stop on the circuit.

"I knew coming in I was skiing very well," Thompson said. "I thought if I skied patient and skied how I do, I'd do well.

"I definitely like this track, a lot of air. We Canadians can handle it . . . we're good with jumps. It's a super fun track all around."

Mariannick Therer of Saint-Sauveur, Que., finished 16th.

But Thompson wasn't the only Canadian to finish on the podium as Calgary's Brady Leman and Montreal's Chris Del Bosco finished first and second, respectively, in the men's competition.

The win was especially satisfying for Leman, who said he had plenty of family watching from the finish line.

"It was awesome," he said. "It's beyond words for me, it's amazing to have such a good performance on home soil and have the home crowd respond and just going crazy."

World champion Del Bosco won gold at the Winter X Games last weekend but said being part of a three-medal performance by the Canadian team was special.

"It was amazing," he said. "It was great to perform before the home crowd and put on a good show."

David Duncan of London, Ont., finished seventh overall after placing third in the small final. Toronto's Nick Zoricic was 11th while Tristan Tafel of Canmore, Alta., finished 15th.