Reece Howden of Chilliwack, British Columbia made World Cup men’s ski cross history on Tuesday. He won his 19th World Cup gold medal in ski cross, the most ever by a Canadian man.
Howden defeated Johannes Aujesky of Austria in the final by 14 one hundredths of a second. David Mobaerg of Sweden won the bronze medal.
The previous record for most men’s ski cross World Cup gold medals belonged to Jean-Frederic Chapuis of France, who had 18 gold medals. However, Chapuis has accomplished something that Howden has not. That is a gold medal in men’s ski cross at the Olympic Winter Games. Chapuis accomplished the feat at the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi. In fact, Howden has not won an Olympic medal as of yet. On the women’s side, Sandra Naslund of Sweden has won the most World Cup gold medals as she has 40.
Howden has now won 31 World Cup ski cross medals. He has won eight World Cup silver medals and four World Cup bronze medals.
In the World Cup ski cross standings, Howden is currently in second place with 153 points. Simone Deromedis of Italy is the World Cup ski cross leader with 225 points.
There are two World Cup ski cross events this weekend. They will take place in Innichen, Italy on December 20 and 21. The gold medal for Howden will give him confidence as he prepares for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan/Cortina d’Ampezzo.