Emily Brydon of Fernie recorded her first Lake Louise podium with a second-place finish and Britt Janyk of Whistler made it two Canadians in the top four–the good news for Canadian ski fans is that the Speed Queens are back.  American star Lindsey Vonn ruled again today,  the two-time reigning World Cup overall champion won the downhill for the sixth consecutive year at this resort in the Rockies.

“That’s about 10 years in the waiting, I think it’s about 10 years I’ve been doing this track,” said the 29-year-old Brydon of finally reaching the podium on home soil. “When you have the feelings of waiting in the finish area for the podium result, that’s when you know that your hard work is paying off and it’s a good feeling to be there.”

Last season, Brydon, Janyk and Kelly VanderBeek of Chilliwack failed to find the podium even once after racking up seven top-three finishes the previous season, a campaign that earned them the nickname the Speed Queens when they began wearing dime-store tiaras on the podium.

Today, with a steady snow forcing organizers to move the start down 600 metres to the Super G gate, the incomparable Vonn, the 19th starter, still aced a course she knows like the back of her hand, clocking a time of one minute, 26.13 seconds.

She now has won six of the last nine World Cup downhills contested at Lake Louise.

Vonn knocked Brydon off the top of the podium after the Canadian team veteran had recorded a time of 1:26.65 as the seventh skier out of the gate.

It was still the best-ever downhill World Cup result for Brydon after three previous third-place finishes. Her only World Cup win came in a Super G in February, 2008, at St. Moritz, Switzerland.

“I went into fifth gear [today]. I realized as I get older that I have different gears and I’m just not willing to risk on training runs. And on races, I am.”

Both Brydon and Vonn said the conditions were ideal for them.

“I was telling [head coach] Patrick Riml in Claire’s Corner, which I’m now naming Emily’s corner because I’ve got that part of the course nailed, that ‘You know what, this is what I grew up in, this is powder, this is Fernie and why not make it my day.”

Maria Riesch of Germany was third in 1:26.93. Janyk was fourth in 1:27.22.