Winter Olympics – men’s freestyle skiing
Posted February 18, 2010 – 11:28 am in: OlympicsAlexandre Bilodeau ended Canada’s agonizing gold medal drought and became a national hero Sunday night when he took the top prize in men’s freestyle moguls.
The grueling event requires athletes navigate a maze of waist high bumps in record time and score style points on two serious mid-course jumps.
Bilodeau had been considered a possible contender to medal since his 11th place finish in Torino, however Canadian fans erupted as if he had pulled a stunning upset when he edged out Australia’s Dale Begg-Smith by the thinnest of margins.
Bryon Wilson of the United States took bronze to round out the medal stand. Two nights prior, the home town pressure had proven too much for women’s free style favorite Jenn Heil was upset on the final run of the day by upstart American Hannah Kearney of Vermont.
Sure to be one of the most enduring stories of the games, Bilodeau’s victory set off gleeful celebrations across the land and is sure to land his face on a postage stamp in the future. With gold around his neck and the weight of a whole country off his shoulders, Bilodeau raised his arms on the medal podium as “Oh, Canada” finally played for the home crowd.
I hope you were able to place your online bet for some of these great races.
Tags: Alexandre Bilodeau, Bryon Wilson, Dale Begg Smith, men’s freestyle skiing, Winter Olympics