Warren Shouldice of Calgary and Rory Bushfield of Balzac, Alberta, both members of the National Freestyle Development Team, came home victorious from the 2002 FIS Freestyle International Youth Championships, which were held last week at the Iso-Syote ski area in Finland. The U.S., Belarus, Switzerland and Russia were among the countries represented.
Shouldice, who is 18 and a member of the FlightSchool aerials development team, won the gold medal ahead of Igor Ishutko of the Ukraine and Vladimir Lebedev of Russia.
Bushfield, also 18, went on to claim his own gold medal in the men’s moguls, edging out two Americans, Jordan Chiovarelli and Ryan Hickey.
More amazing than the two gold medals was the fact that Shouldice and Bushfield were the only Canadians competing in the championships.
Their results bode well for the national program as a number of top skiers are contemplating their retirement from the World Cup circuit.
