Kalle Eriksson and his guide Sierra Smith edged off giant slalom podium

CORTINA, Italy – Kalle Eriksson and his guide Sierra Smith were edged for a podium for a second straight race on Friday placing fourth in the men’s visually impaired giant slalom at the 2026 Paralympic Winter Games.

Eriksson, from Kimberley, B.C., and Smith from Ottawa were third after the first run and posted the fourth fastest time in the second for a total time of 2:10.03. They were just 0.12 seconds from third place finishers Michal Golas and his guide Kacper Walas of Poland.

Johannes Aigner and Nico Haberl of Austria won their third gold medal.

On Tuesday, Eriksson and Smith were fourth in the combined, 0.05 from the bronze. They opened the Games with silver in the downhill and bronze in the Super G.

‘’’ I’m proud of how far we’ve come.’’ said Eriksson. ‘’I wasn’t expecting to win the two medals. Obviously these two fourth places really hurt but they won’t define my Games experience and the success we’ve already had.’’

The pair still have another medal opportunity with the slalom on Saturday.

‘’Our focus is going to shift here,’’ said Eriksson.  ‘’I know we can compete in the slalom, but we also want to enjoy it. We’ve been putting a lot of pressure on ourselves the last couple of days.’’

Brian Rowland of Merrickville, Ont., placed 17^th in the men’s sitting GS while Kurt Oatway of Calgary, the downhill bronze medallist, did not finish his opening run.

Alexa Guimond of Gatineau, Que., was fifth after his opening run in the men’s standing giant slalom but didn’t complete his second run.