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Fast finish for Simmerling

West Van skier third at World Cup final
Georgia Simmerling
Switzerland's Fanny Smith (left) joins Whistler's Marielle Thompson and West Vancouver's Georgia Simmerling on the podium at the ski cross World Cup finals held Sunday in La Plagne, France.

West Vancouver's Georgia Simmerling capped off a strong finish to her ski cross season Sunday, winning bronze at the World Cup finals held in La Plagne, France.

It was the second podium finish in a week for the 25-year-old who also won bronze at a World Cup race held in Sweden March 16.

In Sunday's World Cup final Simmerling won her first heat before finishing second in both her quarterfinal and semifinal to make it to the final four. In the medal race Simmerling was last out of the gate but managed to reel the field back in, passing Sweden's Sandra Naeslund on the final jump to claim bronze by less than a ski length.

"The conditions were pretty difficult," said Simmerling in an interview with the Federation International de Ski following the race. "It was pretty windy, it was snowing so the course changed. But it was the same for everyone - bumpy and rough. That's ski cross and it was super fun."

The bronze medal showing bumped Simmerling into sixth spot in the final overall standings for the season. Simmerling also shared the podium with Canadian teammate Marielle Thompson who finished a dream season with another win. The victory at the World Cup finals clinched the Crystal Globe overall season title for Thompson. The Whistler native had six podium finishes and never placed worse than fifth in 11 World Cup races this season while also earning gold at the Sochi Olympics.

Simmerling now has three career World Cup podium finishes, including a silver she won in Italy in December of 2012. The former Grouse Tyee Ski Club member switched from alpine skiing to ski cross in 2011. She finished 14th at the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi.