Skip to content
Join our Newsletter

Snowboarders claim two medals

The Canadian Snowboard Team kicked off 2009 on the right foot, winning two medals at alpine and snowboardcross events in Europe this past week.

The Canadian Snowboard Team kicked off 2009 on the right foot, winning two medals at alpine and snowboardcross events in Europe this past week.

Whistler’s Maëlle Ricker came closest on Saturday, placing fourth in a night snowboardcross in Bad Bas Gastein, Austria.

Ricker was solid all the way to the finals, and was in second place to U.S. rider Lindsey Jacobellis out of the gate in the final round when they bumped boards and went down. That allowed Sandra Frei of Switzerland and Deborah Anthonioz of France to pull ahead, while Jacobellis was a little quicker to her feet to pick up the bronze medal.

“It’s too bad because it was a very good final,” said Ricker.

“I had good playoff rounds. I led from the start in both the quarterfinal and semifinal.”

Despite the fall, Ricker says the result gave her confidence going into the world championships in South Korea later this month.

“I’m improving each race,” she said. “It augurs well for the worlds and the World Cup at Cypress Mountain in February.”

Her teammate Dominique Maltais was relegated to the small final after a bad start in the semi-final, but redeemed herself with a win in that group to place fifth overall.

On the men’s side, Xavier Delerue of France took the gold, followed by Michal Novotny of Czech Republic and Nate Holland of the U.S. Mike Robertson was the top Canadian, in seventh place.

On Sunday the athletes raced again. This time Dominique Maltais moved up to second place behind Jacobellis and ahead of Zoe Gillings of Germany. Ricker got in trouble in her semi-final, but recovered in the next round to win the small final and place fifth.

On the men’s side, Damien Hayler of Australia won gold, followed by Markus Schairer of Austria. Canada’s Mike Robertson moved up to third, but thought he could have done better.

“I was second before the last jump and tried to move into first and fell,” he said. “That’s why I’m not fully satisfied, even though it is a career-best result. I think I’ll need a week before I can enjoy this medal.”

In Kreischberg, Austria a few days earlier, Canadians had mixed results in alpine races. With the team members largely paying their own way, the women opted not to compete, while Jasey-Jay Anderson and Matthew Morison continued to chase World Cup points.

In the parallel giant slalom, Anderson placed fifth and Morison 11 th . Neither rider finished in the top-15 in the parallel slalom the next day.

 

No medals, but alpine skiers tie personal bests

Although the bulk of Canadian ski racing medals have been in the speed disciplines in recent years, Canada’s technical teams are doing a good job playing catch-up. The team did not win any medals at races in Switzerland and Slovenia over the weekend, but skiers improved their standing overall.

The women’s team was in Maribor, Slovenia. None of the Canadians qualified for a second run, while the race went to Tina Maze of Slovenia, followed by Denise Karbon of Italy and Kathrin Hoelzl of Germany.

Anna Goodman tied her best result in the slalom the next day to place 19 th . The win went to Maria Riesch of Germany, followed by Kathrin Zettel of Austria and Tanja Poutiainen of Finland.

The men’s technical team didn’t do much better in Adelboden, Switzerland. Again, none of the Canadians qualified for a second run in the giant slalom on the first day, with medals going to Benjamin Raich of Austria, Massimiliano Blardone of Italy and Kjetil Jansrud of Norway.

Three Canadians managed to crack the top-30 in the first run in the slalom the next day and earn a second run. Julien Cousineau was 23 rd , Patrick Briggs 24 th and Whistler’s Mike Janyk 28 th .

More than 20 skiers went off course in the first round, including Canadian veteran Thomas Grandi.

 

Para-Alpine team back on top

The International Paralympic Committee’s para-alpine World Cup season got underway in La Molina, Spain this week, and Canadians had a strong start.

Lauren Woolstencroft of North Vancouver, who was missing part of both legs and part of an arm at birth, won gold in the women’s standing category of the giant slalom. Karolina Wisniewska and Andrea Dziewior were fourth and seventh for Canada.

Kimberley Joines placed second in the women’s sitting category. Viviane Forest and guide Arnaud Rajchenbach were first in the women’s visually impaired event, with Kathleen Forestell and guide Lindsay Debou third and Carly Grigg and guide Julie-Christine Roy-Ruel fourth.

On the men’s side, Christopher Williamson and guide Nick Brush were second in the male visually impaired category. Josh Dueck was 12 th in the men’s sitting category, tying his career-best result.

From Whistler, Arly Fogarty did not start in the women’s standing race, while Whistler’s Matt Hallat went off course in the first round.

The competitions continue through the end of this week.