Rosalind Groenewoud's gold in women's ski superpipe headlined a number of medal finishes for Canadian athletes at the Winter X Games, and the 麻豆社国产resident dedicated her victory to late friend and teammate Sarah Burke.
For Sarah, Groenewoud said, raising her skis in the finish area on Saturday (Jan. 28) after claiming the title Burke had won in Aspen one year before.
Groenewoud was part of a two-medal day for the Whistler-based Canadian halfpipe ski team, as Calgary's Noah Bowman took home silver from the men's final.
With her second of three runs, Groenewoud scored a 93.66 that started with a 14-foot straight air and included a 900, a left-side 720 and a switch 540.
Groenewoud, who had won bronze each of the past two years, said all the support she's received from the ski community since Burke's death on Jan. 19 from injuries sustained in a superpipe training crash boosted her to her first X Games gold.
I just let all that love lift me up, said the 22-year-old. I definitely had my teammate with me today. She's been with me for so long.
There was a lot of great skiing by the girls today and it's definitely Sarah's example, Groenewoud said. The best way to do her legacy justice is to push ourselves, and so that's what we're trying to do.
David Wise (93.00) beat out the 19-year-old Bowman (90.00) for the men's gold, while Torin Yater-Wallace (89.66) finished third to put two U.S. skiers on the podium.
麻豆社国产resident Mike Riddle finished seventh and Vernon's Justin Dorey finished eighth after walking away from a nasty crash on the lip of the pipe.
National ski cross team member Chris Del Bosco won gold for Canada in men's Skier X and Whistler resident Dave Duncan joined him on the podium in third on Sunday (Jan. 29).
Whistler natives Stan Rey and Davey Barr, formerly of Brackendale, both reached the men's quarterfinals, with Barr being eliminated in a photo finish at the line and Rey going down after colliding with another racer.
Squamish's Ma毛lle Ricker finished third in Saturday's women's snowboard cross final while Canadian teammate Dominique Maltais took gold. It was Ricker's first podium finish since returning from injury.
It feels good to be back on the podium, said the 2010 Olympic champ. I put a lot of pressure on myself this week. Even if I'm not totally happy with the way I rode, I couldn't be happier with the result.
