while other racers concentrated on USSA and FIS sanctioned events. The last ski cross event on the original “silvertip” track occurred in the early 1980s. A similar idea originated with Jim "Too Tall" Essick, one of the founders of Recreational Sports Marketing (RSM), in the late 1980s. Essick wanted to bring the excitement of motocross to skiing, in order to make ski races more exciting for spectators. The idea was pitched to several corporations, but none wanted to sponsor the concept at the time. In 1991, a television programme filmed a snowboard cross segment, and the name "boarder cross" was trademarked. Eventually, similar events were staged with skis and, thus, skier cross was born. FIS Freestyle World Ski Championships In addition to moguls and aerials, ski cross competitions were added to the International Ski Federation (FIS)'s FIS Freestyle Skiing World Cup calendar in 2004. Winter Olympic Games Ski cross debuted in the Olympics at the 2010 Winter Olympics where Michael Schmid won the men's event, and Ashleigh McIvor of Canada won the women's event. In the 2014 Winter Olympics France's Men swept the podium while in the women's event, Canadians Marielle Thompson and Kelsey Serwa finished first and second respectively. Swedish athlete Anna Holmlund took bronze. In the 2018 Winter Olympics in Korea, Canada continued its domination of the sport. Kelsey Serwa won her second Olympic medal, this time a gold. Canadian teammate Brittany Phelan took home the silver. Swiss skier Fanny Smith won bronze. On the men's side, Brady Leman got redemption after crashing in the final at Sochi by winning gold in Korea. Swiss athlete Marc Bischofberger won silver and Russian Sergey Ridzik won bronze (competing under the Olympic Flag). Winter X Games Ski cross was in the first fifteen Winter X Games, an event which features extreme sports, and was in all Winter X Games until the 2012 Winter X Games. Ski cross, boardercross, and mono ski cross were cut from the 2013 Winter X Games due to the cost of building the cross course. See also List of Olympic medalists in freestyle skiing List of Olympic venues in freestyle skiing Snowboard cross Ice cross downhill References External links AP Winter Games Video: Ralves, Puckett Debut Skicross at Games AP Winter Games Video, Sports Explainer: Ski Cross CanWest News Service: "Ski Cross glossary" - 2010 Winter Games Freestyle skiing Types of skiing Snow sports