CORTINA D'AMPEZZO0, Italy - On any given day it seems a Canadian is capable of skiing onto the World Cup podium.
Saturday was one of those days as Emily Brydon of Fernie, B.C., captured bronze in a World Cup downhill race, leading a trio of Canadian skiers that finished in the top six spots.
"It is an individual sport and we are each individually striving for great results, but when we can share the success with each other, it makes it better, it makes us stronger, it makes us more powerful," Brydon said in a conference call after her race.
"Three of the six girls up there (on the podium) were Canadian, and I've never had that before, and it was a proud moment."
American Lindsey Vonn won the gold in one minute 36.70 seconds, a massive 0.83 seconds ahead of triple world champion Anja Paerson of Sweden.
Brydon finished 1.20 seconds behind, while teammate Kelly VanderBeek of Kitchener, Ont., was fourth, and Britt Janyk of Whistler, B.C., finished sixth.
Brydon's podium performance was her second of the season - she was second in a super-G last month - and fifth by the Canadian women's team.
The victory came a day after Brydon won the final training run.
"It was hard because I had a lot of expectations today. Today was more of a mental game for me," Brydon said. "In the start today, I knew I could do well and it's such a battle, because when you want something too much you never get it.
"It was a balance of trying to find the race mode and the race gear, and yet not wanting it too much and not getting too focused on the end result, and the possibility of what I could achieve."
Brydon's successful season so far comes after several years of injuries and struggles for the Canadian team veteran.
"They always say to appreciate success, you have to go through tough times, you have to have adversity and I think that maybe that's the path I took," Brydon said. "I think that now having two podiums in one season, it's where I should be and where I wanted to be for years, and it's exciting to be at this point."
Vonn's victory, meanwhile, may well have established her as the pre-eminent downhiller in the sport today.
Renate Goetschl of Austria, who holds a record 10 wins in Cortina, was fifth, 1.26 seconds behind, on an overcast day in the Italian Dolomites.
Vonn said this could be the race she looks back on one day as the moment when Goetschl passed her the torch as the tour's top speedster.
"Yeah, maybe. She's won 10 times here, so I don't feel too bad taking one," Vonn said. "To beat her is pretty cool."
The 32-year-old Goetschl finished either first or second in 10 downhills here over the previous eight seasons - in addition to her five super-G victories on the Olympia delle Tofane course.
"I cannot be always the winner," Goetschl said. "For sure it was not my best run. I'm going to have to change something."
Goetschl is winless this season.
"I don't think she's that happy, but she's a very gracious loser and a she has very good sportsmanship," Vonn said after the Austrian congratulated her. "I want her to stay around and keep skiing for a lot longer."
The victory was Vonn's fourth of the season and 11th of her career. Perhaps more notably, it was her first in Cortina on the demanding Tofane course.
"This is one of the great classics of the World Cup tour," Vonn said. "It's just one of those races that's important to win in your career."
Of Vonn's 11 career victories, eight have come in downhill.
"Every year, Lindsey is getting faster and stronger in downhill," Paerson said. "She's skiing everywhere fast. I know the feeling, when you just ski and trust yourself on every corner. It's up to us to beat her. When she starts to finish really fast every race we're going to have problems."
Vonn has won three of the five downhills this season and holds a 430-264 lead on Janyk in the discipline standings. Goetschl is third with 255 points.
"It looks good, finally," Vonn said of her chances for the season's downhill title. "The last few years I started off well but then had problems. Hopefully this year I can hold on to the end."
Vonn increased her lead at every interval and made virtually no mistakes. Last season, she fell twice during the downhill here.
"Today I just tried to ski my best but not too much," Vonn said. "I know I can ski faster."
Nicole Hosp of Austria, who skipped the downhill, still leads the overall standings with 699 points. Vonn moved up from fourth to second, with 638 points.
Super-G's are on the schedule for Sunday and Monday.
"Super-G hasn't gone that well for me this season," Vonn said. "But I've got some new skis and I think they'll be fast tomorrow."
- With files from The Associated Press.
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