Kelsey Serwa didn’t win a medal in her return to the international ski cross circuit, but the Kelowna native has plenty to build on for the rest of the 2012-13 campaign.
Ten months after suffering a season-ending knee injury due to a crash in France, the 23-year-old Serwa placed ninth at the FIS World Cup opener Saturday at Nakiska, west of Calgary.
Serwa made it as far as the quarterfinals before being eliminated from contention, when she was edged by Sweden’s Anna Homlund in a photo-finish for second place.
Coming back from a torn ACL to her left knee, Serwa said she feels 100 per cent healthy in a physical sense, and continues to make progress with her mental approach.
“In the hardest, most technical part of the course, and on my bad leg, the side I had surgery on, I was right there,” Serwa said. “I literally skied across a girl’s skis so I feel like I’m back and ready to win.”
Serwa added that Saturday’s race was “a big step in getting back on the podium.”
Serwa was the top Canadian among the women on Saturday, while Brady Leman of Calgary was sixth among the men.
Serwa has 13 World Cup podium finishes to her credit since 2009, and is also a world champion and X-Games gold medalist.
