Marielle Thompson ruptured her ACL just 11 months ago. Canadian is now looking for second Olympic gold in ski cross

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This article was published 15/02/2022 (1350 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

In ski cross, Sandra Naeslund is a goddess.

Which would make Marielle Thompson the infidel.

The Swede has won eight-of-nine races this season on the World Cup circuit, including in late January, final event before the Olympics. Her only loss was to … Marielle Thompson.

No Canadians participated in the last stop pre-Games, at Idre Fjäll, home soil for Naeslund. But when she and Thompson last tangled, on Jan. 15, it was Naeslund who crossed the finish line first. Thompson and Switzerland’s Fanny Smith had bumped and crashed in the second turn of the three-woman final at Nakiska, Alta., though Thompson got back on her skis to claim silver — her fifth podium finish this season.

“Sandra’s been super-strong all winter so far,” Thompson told the Star, just before departing for Beijing where seeding for her event begins Thursday.

“But I’ve had some good heats with her where I’ve taken the win in training. So I know my speed’s there. Really, it comes down to getting all those features and just executing on the course, trying to be the best on any given day.’’

Thompson also has what Naeslund covets — Olympic gold.

Triumphant at the 2014 Games in Sochi.

A three-time FIS World Cup Crystal Goblet winner — overall points leader — and 2019 world champion.

The 29-year-old skier from Whistler, B.C., at her third Games, has been at this a long, long time. With Brady Leman, golden in Pyeongchang four years ago, she headlines a potent eight-member team into the Olympics.

“You know that we’re all going to be bringing our best when it comes to race day,” Thompson said when the cadre was announced. “It is an individual sport, we’re on our own out there. But it is nice to know that all your teammates have had really strong performances to make the Olympic team. It was a tough team to make.”

Canada has copped gold at every Games since the event made its debut in 2010 in Vancouver. At the Nakiska stop in January, Canadians collected a gold and two silvers. The team also features Brittany Phelan, silver medallist from Pyeongchang.

For Thompson, the odyssey began as a high schooler right in her own backyard, at Blackcomb, after switching from figure skating, which didn’t compare to the thrill of racing fast down a slope. “When I started, I didn’t realize what sort of athlete I could be. I knew I could be a good skier but I think, then to now, I’ve developed into a true athlete. I’m a lot stronger, quicker, just a lot more developed. My body’s changed a lot but I’ve also got a lot of experience, gone through some injuries, learned from those and how to come back stronger.”

By age 18, the launch of her career, Thompson was racing alongside the best in the world. “To have those athletes to look up to and to chase really benefitted me. Now it’s different, I’m the one who’s trying to push the envelope and be the best in the world.”

Ski cross — navigating a course that includes big jumps, roller and high-banked turns — requires more upper strength than alpine skiing, Thompson explains. It’s been described as a take-no-prisoners sport. “Any sport can be tough. But in ski cross, anything can happen on any given day. You just have to go out there and do everything you can to be in front and be the best on that day.”

And hope not to bust a bone.

Thompson has twice ruptured the ACL in her right knee, most recently last March, when the hinge gave way on the slopes of Sunny Valley in Russia. (Doesn’t sound Russian at all, does it?) Reconstructive surgery was the route forced upon her, which gave Thompson a full 11 months to reach prime fitness for the Games. “I knew returning this season, I was as strong as I could be and as prepared as I could be when I was finally able to get back on the World Cup racing again.” Still, she missed the World Cup test event in Beijing in November, so the course is unfamiliar, despite her close examination of video.

First time ’round the ACL rehab track, in 2017, Thompson had a mere three months to speed dial her prep for the Games.

“Pyeongchang was a really different experience than Sochi, that’s for sure. I didn’t even know if I was going to be able to race there because I was coming back from a pretty serious knee injury.”

She was eliminated in the first heat after falling and finishing third, the event won instead by teammate Kelsey Serwa, who has since retired.

Thompson’s comeback lasted all of 11 seconds, eliminated after losing her balance in her heat, spinning out and crashing.

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“The positive I’ve taken away from that experience is that I was the fasted on the course. But I didn’t have a whole lot of time on that track, maybe three or four runs, and the rest of the field had been racing all winter. It just wasn’t my day, honestly.”

Sandra Naeslund finished fourth.

It’s pretty much the same crew of women, racing around the world, kind of frenemies.

“With any of the top girls, we have really good relationships off the hill,’’ says Thompson. “But when you’re in that start gate, you’re going to get a tough competitor in each of them. I look forward to any time I can race against them, I think they feel the same way about me.”

Rosie DiManno is a Toronto-based columnist covering sports and current affairs for the Star. Follow her on Twitter: @rdimanno