Coverage of 2018 Winter Olympic Games
PYEONGCHANG, Korea, Republic Of — Canada skated to the gold it had been dreaming about for four years.
American Jamie Anderson got another to match the one she won in Sochi.
The Canadians kicked off the third day of full competition at the Pyeongchang Olympics on Monday by winning the team figure skating competition, finishing with the medal they had set their sights on since taking silver in 2014.
“We think we’re the best in the world,” said ice dancer Scott Moir of Ilderton, Ont. “Winning this is like winning hockey and winning curling.”
Anderson showed she’s tops in women’s slopestyle, defending her title from the 2014 Games and becoming the first female snowboarder to win two Olympic golds.
That came despite some big-time weather concerns that caused a 75-minute delay, left the course unpredictable and sparked criticism from some competitors and analysts.
“I was trying to keep the spirits high, like, ‘Let’s run it,”’ Anderson said. “A handful of the girls were like, ‘No, it’s not safe’ and things like that. It’s not like what we’re doing is safe anyhow.”
Canada’s Laurie Blouin earned silver in the event. Sporting a black eye after a nasty crash in training a few days ago, Blouin overcame high winds to nail a clean second run for 76.33 points.
The reigning world champion from Stoneham, Que., Blouin was second behind Anderson, who scored 83.00 on her first run. Enni Rukajarvi of Finland took bronze with a score of 73.91.
“Now I’m here in second place, I just don’t believe it,” said Blouin. “It’s a dream come true.”
The windy conditions postponed the women’s giant slalom until Thursday, the same day as the already-postponed men’s downhill at the Pyeongchang Olympics.
In other night finals, Ireen Wust won her fifth Olympic title and the Dutch speedskaters picked up gold and bronze in the 1,500 metres, biathlon No. 1 Martin Fourcade won the 12.5-kilometre pursuit, and Maren Lundby of Norway won the women’s ski jumping normal hill.