Two Canadians again share podium.
Howell’s historic run leads Canada to gold, bronze
The snow started icy and turned slow, and bodies tumbled all over the place. They fell off the rail section or skidded off jumps. They had to retrieve their skis, or fetch stray goggles. Nobody was too badly hurt, it seemed; everybody was getting up.
That was what Dara Howell, a 19-year-old from Huntsville, Ont., was staring at.
Kaya Turski, the Canadian favourite who had been so sick with a mystery virus for two weeks that she cried almost every day — well, she had already crashed twice, and was out. Turski was proud she didn’t cry, afterward. Now, it was Howell’s chance.
She said that her training for the finals was lousy — she was soaked after falling over and over in the slushy snow and joked she felt like a scuba diver — but, in the final, she simply went out and soared. All day, the course looked difficult and the sport looked hard.
And then came Howell’s in- stant-legend run in the women’s slopestyle ski competition at the 2014 Olympics. She described it like this: “I did Disaster to Blind 2 on the first rail, just slid the second rail to Switch out of the cannon, to Switch Course 7 High Safety, to Switch Misty 9 Mute, to Flat 5 Bow and Arrow.” To those of us who don’t know what that means, it means that she was acrobatic and daring, that she flew and landed safely. It was something to see, and not just for those of us who only half-knew what we were seeing.
“Yeah, I think that’s the best run I’ve done in my entire life,” said Howell, who still skis with her 98-year-old grandfather, though he’s understandably a little more subdued.
Twitter lit up. Canadian halfpipe skier Justin Dorey called it “the best women’s slope run I’ve ever seen.” British freestyle ski coach Jamie Mathew said the same. Peter Judge, the CEO of the Canadian Freestyle Ski Association, said: “At this point in time I think it’s one of the most exceptional runs that’s ever been done by a girl.”
When the score flashed — 94.20 — Howell shrieked and hopped up and down. Swiss skier Camilla Berra, who finished 12th, said: “That was awesome ... I can’t remember one time (someone) getting more than 90 points. I’ve never seen that before.”
Canadian Kim Lamarre had crashed on her first run and had one chance left. The team had dropped the 25-year-old from the team after an ACL tear last year, but she fought her way back and regained a spot in January of this year. She delivered, too, scoring an 85.00, just 0.40 behind American Devin Logan, and securing a bronze.
“I asked about Olympics, and I was just kind of told to focus on getting back to skiing, and I was like, screw this, I have a chance,” said Lamarre, from Quebec City.
“I’m going to put my heart into it, everything. I know I can do this.”
Howell had nine people here with her from Canada; her parents, an aunt, a grandmother — who declared herself “stoked” — her dentist (a family friend) and others. They held flags and dressed in red and white and bellowed for her, were thrilled for her. When it was over, she hugged her mom and they both cried, and she hugged her dad and they were all here together.
“I’ve never seen my dad that happy in my entire life,” she said, two stitches on the bridge of her nose after knocking a lampshade down in the athletes’ village.
Her father, Doug, said he was glad his daughter took a victory lap on her second run.
“I was more worried that they were going to try to send her down again and do a full-on run, the course had deteriorated and I just wanted her safe.”
That’s what every parent thinks. Canadian Yuki Tsubota also reached the final, and had a solid first run.
The Vancouver native was trying out new routines because her tricks weren’t working in practice, and she had hinted she would try more difficult tricks in her final run.
And on her final jump, she didn’t have enough speed and got lost in the air, crashing to the crest of the hill, bouncing like a rag doll, sliding down in a heap. The medical crew rushed out and secured her in a gurney, and as she was carried off the course, a tiny grey-haired woman in a silver jacket said “mum, mum” to a volunteer and pointed at herself, then to Tsubota.
But her English was a little rocky and she lacked the necessary credential. She had to circle around the portables and down a stone path, as fast as she could go.
Tsubota was taken to hospital and suffered a fractured jaw, but showed no sign of concussion, and finished sixth. In all, it was an all-or-nothing day for this team: gold, bronze, sickness, hospital.