Reece Howden and Sandra Naeslund win World Cup freestyle skiing gold medals in Innichen event

Reece Howden and Sandra Naeslund claimed World Cup goal at the ski cross meet in Innichen on Thursday afternoon.

Canadian Howden fended off Ryo Sugai and Niklas Bachsleitner in the men’s race, while Sweden’s Naeslund defeated Andrea Limbacher and Fanny Smith to seal victory.

The men’s final saw Howden, a 2016 Youth Olympic gold medallist, beat silver medallist Sugai by just over half a second.

Sugai finished second ahead of Bachsleitner, while Simone Deromedis just missed out on a podium place in fourth.

The small final was won by Marc Bischofberger, who sealed fifth overall, with Joos Berry claiming sixth ahead of Great Britain’s Ollie Davies.

In the women’s final, Naeslund was ultimately a commanding winner, finishing over three second ahead of the rest of the field in a hugely dramatic final.

The Swede was already well clear of Limbacher, Smith and Sonja Gigler ahead of the final part of the course when Smith and Gigler collided and crashed.

The incident allowed Limbacher to move from fourth up to finish in second, and while Smith eventually crossed the line before Gigler they were both awarded third spot.

Victory for Naeslund sees her extend her overall World Cup lead, with Marielle Thompson in second and Smith third.

Sixtine Cousin won the small final to finish in fifth place, ahead of Talina Gantenbein in sixth and Courtney Hoffos in seventh.

Meanwhile, Howden moved to the top of the men’s standings, with Mathias Graf now in second and Florian Wilmsmann in third.