Meryeta O’Dine of Prince George, B.C., won the first Olympic medal of her career, capturing bronze in the women’s snowboard cross competition, sharing the podium with gold-medal winner Lindsey Jacobellis, of the U.S., and France’s Chloe Trespeuch, who earned silver.
Tess Critchlow of Big White, B.C., was sixth after finishing as the runner-up in the small final.
O’Dine is making her Olympic debut in Beijing. She made Canada’s team for the 2018 Pyeongchang Games but suffered a concussion after a fall in training two days before her event.
Four years later, O’Dine returns to the Olympic stage — this time landing on a podium.
WATCH | Meryeta O’Dine wins bronze in women’s snowboard cross:
Meryeta O’Dine claims snowboard cross bronze at Beijing 2022
6 hours ago
Duration 5:25
Meryeta O’Dine of Prince George, B.C., finishes third in the women’s snowboard cross big final at the Beijing Olympics. 5:25
“It’s really full-circle from the last Olympics when I had such a bad concussion,” she said after Wednesday’s final.
O’Dine’s medal doesn’t just come after encountering difficulty in Pyeongchang, but in the wake of her brother’s passing.
Her brother, Brandon, died of a brain tumour in early 2020, forcing Meryeta and her parents into months of mourning.
“That was an absolutely crazy time; it was a very long and painful way to go — we were in the hospice for a very long time, and we were in the gym in the basement of the hospice,” O’Dine said. “I really had the support of my friends, family and community, and all those things came together and made me feel the best that I absolutely could coming into this year.”
WATCH | O’Dine reflects on death of brother, painful journey to Olympic bronze:
Meryeta O’Dine reflects on death of brother, painful journey to Olympic bronze
2 hours ago
Duration 1:17
Snowboard cross Olympic bronze medallist Meryeta O’Dine discusses the concussion she suffered during a training run at Pyeongchang 2018 and her brother, Brandon, who died of a brain tumour in early 2020. 1:17
O’Dine was not considered a favourite to earn a podium at these Olympics, with just one World Cup medal to her name. However, a third-place finish in the seeding run and a fall from defending Olympic champion Michela Moioli of Italy helped propel her to bronze.
Jacobellis gets over the hump
Jacobellis, 36, captured Olympic gold for the first time in her career, 16 years after attempting a method-grab on the final jump while leading at Turin 2006, crashing and surrendering the Olympic title.
“That defined me for such a long time,” Jacobellis said. “I’ve won just about everything else, and this was still out of grasp, so I didn’t really know how today would go. But I was feeling the starts; they were working for me.”
Trespeuch, the second-ranked rider in the World Cup standings, won her second Olympic medal, and first since Sochi 2014, with a comfortable finish in front of the Canadian in the big final.
Audrey McManiman of Saint-Ambroise-de-Kildare, Que., finished 13th in the seeding run before being eliminated in the quarter-finals of the knockout stage, along with fellow Canadian Zoe Bergermann, or Georgetown, Ont.
A Canadian had not won an Olympic medal in the women’s snowboard cross since Dominique Maltais won silver at Sochi 2014, while no one from Team Canada has captured gold since Maëlle Ricker won at Vancouver 2010.
Ricker, 43, is in Beijing working as a coach with the Canadian snowboard cross program.
After O’Dine’s medal kicked things off in snowboard cross, the men’s competition begins on Wednesday at 10:15 p.m. ET, streaming live on CBC Gem, the CBC Sports app and the CBC Sports’ Beijing 2022 website.
WATCH | Replay of the women’s snowboard cross final:
Snowboarding – Women’s Snowboard Cross Final
8 hours ago
Duration 1:43:55
Watch Snowboard Cross action on Day 5 of the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022. 1:43:55
VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Canucks announced Tuesday that defenceman Alex Edler will sign a one-day contract in order to officially retire as a member of the NHL team.
The signing will be part of a celebration of Edler’s career held Oct. 11 when the Canucks host the Philadelphia Flyers.
The Canucks selected Edler, from Ostersund, Sweden, in the third round (91st overall) of the 2004 NHL draft.
He played in 925 career games for the Canucks between the 2006-07 and 2020-21 seasons, ranking fourth in franchise history and first among defencemen.
The 38-year-old leads all Vancouver defencemen with 99 goals, 310 assists and 177 power-play points with the team.
Edler also appeared in 82 career post-season contests with Vancouver and was an integral part of the Canucks’ run to the 2011 Stanley Cup final, putting up 11 points (2-9-11) across 25 games.
“I am humbled and honoured to officially end my career and retire as a member of the Vancouver Canucks,” Edler said in a release. “I consider myself lucky to have started my career with such an outstanding organization, in this amazing city, with the best fans in the NHL. Finishing my NHL career where it all began is something very special for myself and my family.”
Edler played two seasons for Los Angeles in 2021-22 and 2022-23. He did not play in the NHL last season.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
The sixth-ranked Canadian women will face World Cup champion Spain in an international friendly next month.
Third-ranked Spain will host Canada on Oct. 25 at Estadio Francisco de la Hera in Almendralejo.
The game will be the first for the Canadian women since the Paris Olympics, where they lost to Germany in a quarterfinal penalty shootout after coach Bev Priestman was sent home and later suspended for a year by FIFA over her part in Canada’s drone-spying scandal.
In announcing the Spain friendly, Canada Soccer said more information on the interim women’s coaching staff for the October window will come later. Assistant coach Andy Spence took charge of the team in Priestman’s absence at the Olympics.
Spain finished fourth in Paris, beaten 1-0 by Germany in the bronze-medal match.
Canada is winless in three previous meetings (0-2-1) with Spain, most recently losing 1-0 at the Arnold Clark Cup in England in February 2022.
The teams played to a scoreless draw in May 2019 in Logroñés, Spain in a warm-up for the 2019 World Cup. Spain won 1-0 in March 2019 at the Algarve Cup in São João da Venda, Portugal.
Spain is a powerhouse in the women’s game these days.
It won the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2022 and was runner-up in 2018. And it ousted Canada 2-1 in the round of 16 of the current U-20 tournament earlier this month in Colombia before falling 1-0 to Japan after extra time in the quarterfinal.
Spain won the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2018 and 2022 and has finished on the podium on three other occasions.
FC Barcelona’s Aitana Bonmati (2023) and Alexia Putellas (2021 and ’22) have combined to win the last three Women’s Ballon d’Or awards.
And Barcelona has won three of the last four UEFA Women’s Champions League titles.
“We continue to strive to diversify our opponent pool while maintaining a high level of competition.” Daniel Michelucci, Canada Soccer’s director of national team operations, said in a statement. “We anticipate a thrilling encounter, showcasing two of the world’s top-ranked teams.”
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024
TORONTO – The Toronto Maple Leafs have announced cookie brand Oreo as the team’s helmet sponsor for the upcoming NHL season.
The new helmet will debut Sunday when Toronto opens its 2024-25 pre-season against the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Arena.
The Oreo logo replaces Canadian restaurant chain Pizza Pizza, which was the Leafs’ helmet sponsor last season.
Previously, social media platform TikTok sponsored Toronto starting in the 2021-22 regular season when the league began allowing teams to sell advertising space on helmets.
The Oreo cookie consists of two chocolate biscuits around a white icing filling and is often dipped in milk.
Fittingly, the Leafs wear the Dairy Farmers of Ontario’s “Milk” logo on their jerseys.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
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