Winter Olympics 2022: Ryan Regez leads 1-2 finish by Swiss in skicross final

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Ryan Regez went from downhill skier to apprentice as a structural draftsman to skicross racer to his latest endeavor — an Olympic gold medalist.

"What a crazy way," he said of his unconventional journey. "I think it’s more likely to be struck by lightning — twice."

Regez led a 1-2 finish by Switzerland in the skicross final on Friday at Genting Snow Park. The 29-year-old grabbed the lead early and never relinquished it along a course filled with bumps, jumps and rolling terrain. He raised his arms in triumph shortly after crossing the finish line.

His teammate, 36-year-old Alex Fiva, finished with the silver medal and Russian athlete Sergey Ridzik grabbed the bronze.

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Switzerland's Ryan Regez celebrates after winning a gold medal in the men's cross at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Friday, Feb. 18, 2022, in Zhangjiakou, China. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

"It’s kind of incredible," Regez said. "The whole week of training, I’ve been so nervous and had so much pressure on myself because everyone was expecting me to come here and win.

"Well, and I did," he added with a laugh.

Try as he might, Fiva just couldn't catch up to Regez, who opened up a pretty sizeable lead by skicross standards. The last thing Fiva wanted to do was take a big risk and possibly cause a crash that would take both of them out of the medals.

"When I realized Ryan was in front, I kind of stepped a little off the gas to be sure of not crashing inside of him, and pass somewhere on the flat section. But then I made too many mistakes," Fiva explained of his strategy. "I’m definitely happy for him. He’s a crazy cool guy. Really strong skiing."

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