BEIJING — Team Canada enjoyed its most successful day so far at the Beijing Winter Olympics with a four-medal haul on Thursday.
Snowboarder Eliot Grondin and speedskater Isabelle Weidemann each collected silver medals, while alpine skier Jack Crawford and Canada’s mixed aerials team each nabbed bronze.
Canada, with 12 total medals, now sits tied with Norway for second on the Olympic medal table. Austria leads with 13.
Grondin had not been challenged all day.
The Canadian cruised through every race on his way to the men’s snowboard cross final in Zhangjiakou at the Beijing Olympics, where he fought hard for a silver medal that was a photo finish away from being gold.
Grondin of Ste-Marie, Que., crossed the finish line 0.02 seconds behind Austria’s Alessandro Hämmerle for Canada’s second medal Thursday.
Just a few minutes earlier – and a few hundred kilometres away in the Yanqing zone – Jack Crawford held on tight for third place in the alpine combined.
The 20-year-old Grondin led every race heading into the big final. Then it was his turn to play catch-up. He stuck close to Hämmerle from start to finish, never letting the Austrian break away.
It stayed that way until Grondin plunged to the finish line for the nail-biting finish. After a few tense moments, the Canadian’s silver medal was confirmed.
“I kind of knew I was going to be silver, but I tried everything I had,” he said.
“Just to share the podium with Alessandro is amazing.”
It was Canada’s fourth medal in snowboarding at Beijing and second in as many days after Meryeta O’Dine captured bronze in the women’s snowboard cross on Wednesday.
Crawford finished third with a total time of two minutes 32.11 seconds for Canada’s first-ever medal in alpine combined.
The Toronto native entered the slalom portion of the event in second place after going 1:43.14 in the downhill. He then did a 48.97 in the slalom.
Crawford dropped to third after four skiers, with another 20 to go. But nobody else could match his time.
Johannes Strolz of Austria won gold (2:31.43) while Aleksander Aamodt Kilde of Norway took home the silver (2:32.02).
Two other Canadians cracked the top 10. Broderick Thompson of Whistler, B.C., was eighth while Brodie Seger of North Vancouver, B.C., came in ninth.
The 24-year-old Crawford came close to a medal on two previous occasions in Beijing. He was sixth in the men’s super-G on Tuesday and fourth in the men’s downhill event on Monday, finishing seven-hundredths of a second behind the bronze medallist.
Crawford says recent changes to his skiing style and overall approach have given him more of a winner’s mindset.
“I’ve taken on this new mentality of ‘how do I put myself in a position to win every single race,'” he said. “And even if you’re not winning, even if you’re not coming in the top 10, if you have that mentality and you have that ability to push and put yourself in the position where you could win, it’s probably going to be a good day regardless of where you end up.
“For me, that has really helped allow me to push and be in a place where anything can happen on any given day.”
Canada’s mixed aerials team picked up Canada’s third medal of the day — and second bronze — at the Zhangjiakou Genting Snow Park.
The United States claimed gold with 338.34 points while China settled for silver with 324.22.
The Canadian trio of Marion Thenault of Sherbrooke, Que.; Miha Fontaine of Lac-Beauport, Que.; and Quebec City’s Lewis Irving finished the final with a total of 290.98 points to edge out fourth-place Switzerland, which totalled 276.01 points.
Flavie Aumond, also from Lac-Beauport, and Émile Nadeau of Prévost, Que., also competed for Canada in the freestyle skiing event.
It is Canada’s first aerials medal since the 2002 Salt Lake Games, when Veronica Brenner won silver and Deidra Dionne claimed bronze in the women’s event.
Meanwhile, Weidemann won an Olympic silver medal in the women’s 5,000 metres.
The 26-year-old from Ottawa collected her second medal in Beijing after a bronze in the 3,000 metres.
The Canadian posted a time of six minutes 48.18 seconds skating in the penultimate pairing.
Dutchwoman Irene Schouten then beat Weidemann’s time for gold in an Olympic-record 6:43.51.
“I really emptied the tank today. I gave all my energy. So I looked up (but) I couldn’t really see the time. I haven’t skated that deep into the hole in a while. And I was just trying to stay on my feet,” Weidemann said of her effort.
In curling, Canada’s Brad Gushue defeated Norway’s Steffen Walstad 6-5 in men’s round-robin play.
Gushue (2-0) made an open draw for a single in the 10th end for the victory.
Skip Jennifer Jones will lead the Canadian women’s team into its round-robin opener in the evening against South Korea’s EunJung Kim.
At the Capital Indoor Stadium, Canada’s Keegan Messing, who arrived a week late to the Games after a positive COVID-19 test, finished 11th in men’s singles figure skating amid perhaps the finest Olympic field ever assembled.
Messing’s Olympic story wasn’t what he’d hoped to write. He missed the team event entirely. And in his free program, he downgraded one of his two quadruple jumps to a triple, a costly mistake in a field full of big jumpers that he wishes he could have back.
Still, competing in Beijing at all felt like a victory.
“I’m just happy to be here. I’ve got the biggest smile on my face,” Messing said through his face mask. “And I feel full. It’s everything. This is the Olympic dream, I never thought I was going to come twice. And here I am.”
Meanwhile, the drama continued off the ice in figure skating.
Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva practised as usual Thursday morning despite reports the 15-year-old had tested positive for a banned heart medication.
If that leads to a disqualification for the gold medal-winning Russians in the team event, fourth-place Canada could be in line to win bronze.
Earlier, Elizabeth Hosking from Longueuil, Que., placed sixth in women’s snowboard halfpipe, improving 13 spots from the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics. She said getting significantly closer to the podium has just added fuel to her fire.
“It’s a big achievement going to the Olympics, but I guess I’m just a person that is never settled,” said Hosking.
“You know, that’s what fires me. I just want better for myself and better for my competitive career.”
American Chloe Kim successfully defended her Olympic title, throwing down a 94.00 in her first run to win gold. Spain’s Queralt Castellet (90.25) took home the silver and Japan’s Tomita Sena (88.25) finished with bronze.
Calgary’s Brooke D’Hondt, making her Olympic debut, finished 10th with a score of 66.75. The 16-year-old D’Hondt is the youngest member of Canada’s Olympic delegation at the Beijing Games.
“I was super excited to just be here,” she said. “It’s been a goal of mine for a while, so I’m so honoured to be here representing Canada.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 10, 2022.
TORONTO – Singles star Leylah Fernandez and doubles specialist Gabriela Dabrowski will anchor Canada’s five-player lineup when the team tries to defend its Billie Jean King Cup title in mid-November.
The 26th-ranked Fernandez, the 2021 U.S. Open finalist from Laval, Que., is the lone Canadian in the top 100 of the WTA Tour’s singles rankings.
Dabrowski, from Ottawa, is ranked fourth on the doubles list. The 2023 U.S. Open women’s doubles champion won mixed doubles bronze with Felix Auger-Aliassime at the recent Paris Olympics.
Marina Stakusic of Mississauga, Ont., returns after a breakout performance last year, capped by her singles win in Canada’s 2-0 victory over Italy in the final. Vancouver’s Rebecca Marino is also back and Bianca Andreescu, the 2019 U.S. Open champion from Mississauga, Ont., returns to the squad for the first time since 2022.
“Winning the Billie Jean King Cup in 2023 was a dream come true for us, and not only that, but I feel like we made a statement to the world about the strength of this nation when it comes to tennis,” Canada captain Heidi El Tabakh said Monday in a release. “Once again, we have a very strong team this year with Bianca joining Leylah, Gaby, Rebecca and Marina, making it an extremely powerful team that is more than capable of going all the way.
“At the end of the day, our goal is to make Canada proud, and we’ll do our best to bring the same level of effort and excitement that we had in last year’s finals.”
Fernandez, who beat Jasmine Paolini to clinch Canada’s first-ever title at the competition, is ranked No. 42 in doubles.
Canada, which received an automatic berth as defending champion, will play the winner of the first-round tie between Great Britain and Germany on Nov. 17 at Malaga’s Martin Carpena Arena.
Australia, Italy and wild-card entry Czechia also received first-round byes. The tournament, which continues through Nov. 20, also includes host Spain, Slovakia, the United States, Poland, Japan and Romania.
Stakusic is up 27 spots to No. 128 in the latest world singles rankings. Marino is at No. 134 and Andreescu, the 2019 U.S. Open champion, is ranked 167th.
Canada will look to become the first team since Czechia in 2016 to successfully defend its Billie Jean King Cup title.
Malaga will also host the Nov. 19-24 Davis Cup Final 8. The Canadian men qualified over the weekend with a 2-1 victory over Great Britain in Manchester.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
PITTSBURGH – Sidney Crosby plans to remain a Pittsburgh Penguin for at least three more years.
The Penguins announced on Monday that they re-signed the 37-year-old from Cole Harbour, N.S., to a two-year contract extension that has an average annual value of US$8.7 million. The deal runs through the 2026-27 season.
Crosby was eligible to sign an extension on July 1 with him entering the final season of a 12-year, $104.4-million deal that carries an $8.7-million salary cap hit.
At the NHL/NHLPA player media tour in Las Vegas last Monday, he said things were positive and he was optimistic about a deal getting done.
The three-time Stanley Cup champion is coming off a 42-goal, 94-point campaign that saw him finish tied for 12th in the league scoring race.
Crosby has spent all 19 of his NHL seasons in Pittsburgh, amassing 592 goals and 1,004 assists in 1,272 career games.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
MONTREAL – Tadej Pogacar was so dominant on Sunday, Canada’s Michael Woods called it a race for second.
Pogacar, a three-time Tour de France champion from Slovenia, pedalled to a resounding victory at the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montreal.
The UAE Team Emirates leader crossed the finish line 24 seconds ahead of Spain’s Pello Bilbao of Bahrain — Victorious to win the demanding 209.1-kilometre race on a sunny, 28 C day in Montreal. France’s Julian Alaphilippe of Soudal Quick-Step was third.
“He’s the greatest rider of all time, he’s a formidable opponent,” said Woods, who finished 45 seconds behind the leader in eighth. “If you’re not at your very, very best, then you can forget racing with him, and today was kind of representative of that.
“He’s at such a different level that if you follow him, it can be lights out.”
Pogacar slowed down before the last turn to celebrate with the crowd, high-five fans on Avenue du Parc and cruise past the finish line with his arms in the air after more than five hours on the bike.
The 25-year-old joined Belgium’s Greg Van Avermaet as the only multi-time winners in Montreal after claiming the race in 2022. He also redeemed a seventh-place finish at the Quebec City Grand Prix on Friday.
“I was disappointed, because I had such good legs that I didn’t do better than seventh,” Pogacar said. “To bounce back after seventh to victory here, it’s just an incredible feeling.”
It’s Pogacar’s latest win in a dominant year that includes victories at the Tour de France and Giro d’Italia.
Ottawa’s Woods (Israel Premier-Tech) tied a career-best in front of the home crowd in Montreal, but hoped for more after claiming a stage at the Spanish Vuelta two weeks ago.
“I wanted a better result,” the 37-year-old rider said. “My goal was a podium, but at the same time I’m happy with the performance. In bike racing, you can’t always get the result you want and I felt like I raced really well, I animated the race, I felt like I was up there.”
Pogacar completed the 17 climbs up and down Mount Royal near downtown in five hours 28 minutes 15 seconds.
He made his move with 23.3 kilometres to go, leaving the peloton in his dust as he pedalled into the lead — one he never relinquished.
Bilbao, Alaphilippe, Alex Aranburu (Movistar Team) and Bart Lemmen (Visma–Lease) chased in a group behind him, with Bilbao ultimately separating himself from the pack. But he never came close to catching Pogacar, who built a 35-second lead with one lap left to go.
“It was still a really hard race today, but the team was on point,” Pogacar said. “We did really how we planned, and the race situation was good for us. We make it hard in the last final laps, and they set me up for a (takeover) two laps to go, and it was all perfect.”
Ottawa’s Derek Gee, who placed ninth in this year’s Tour de France, finished 48th in Montreal, and called it a “hard day” in the heat.
“I think everyone knows when you see Tadej on the start line that it’s just going to be full gas,” Gee said.
Israel Premier-Tech teammate Hugo Houle of Sainte-Perpétue, Que., was 51st.
Houle said he heard Pogacar inform his teammates on the radio that he was ready to attack with two laps left in the race.
“I said then, well, clearly it’s over for me,” Houle said. “You see, cycling isn’t that complicated.”
Australia’s Michael Matthews won the Quebec City GP for a record third time on Friday, but did not finish in Montreal. The two races are the only North American events on the UCI World Tour.
Michael Leonard of Oakville, Ont., and Gil Gelders and Dries De Bondt of Belgium broke away from the peloton during the second lap. Leonard led the majority of the race before losing pace with 45 kilometres to go.
Only 89 of 169 riders from 24 teams — including the Canadian national team — completed the gruelling race that features 4,573 metres in total altitude.
Next up, the riders will head to the world championships in Zurich, Switzerland from Sept. 21 to 29.
Pogacar will try to join Eddy Merckx (1974) and Stephen Roche (1987) as the only men to win three major titles in a season — known as the Triple Crown.
“Today gave me a lot of confidence, motivation,” Pogacar said. “I think we are ready for world championships.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 15, 2024.
