Slopestyle skier Beaulieu-Marchand boosts Canada’s medal haul with bronze
PYEONGCHANG, Korea, Republic Of
Freestyle skier Alex Beaulieu-Marchand used the best run of his life to boost Canada’s medal total at the Pyeongchang Olympics on Sunday.
The 23-year-old from Quebec City captured bronze in the men’s slopestyle competition after recording 92.40 points on his second run.
“I had this crazy feeling, I was skiing so good today,” he said. “I have never skied that good in my life.”
Beaulieu-Marchand finished behind gold medallist Oystein Braaten of Norway, who scored 95.00, and silver medallist Nick Goepper of the U.S., who scored 93.60.
In slopestyle, each skier has three runs down a course that features rails and jumps. Their best score counts.
Beaulieu-Marchand skied well throughout the final, scoring 81.60 on his first run and 82.40 on his third.
“The jumps I was landing so consistently, those are jumps I have barely practised,” he said. “I did more triple flips today than I did in my entire life before.”
Olivier Rochon of Gatineau, Que., had a chance to add to Canada’s freestyle skiing medal haul when he qualified second for the men’s aerials final. But he couldn’t land his cleanly and finished in fifth place in his Olympic debut.
Justin Kripps of Summerland, B.C., and Alexander Kopacz of London, Ont., look poised for a medal in two-man bobsled after sitting in second place after two runs. The final two runs go Monday.
In men’s hockey, Team Canada defeated a scrappy South Korean squad 4-0 in its round-robin finale. Canada finished second in its group, behind the Czech Republic, but advanced directly into the quarterfinals as the best second-place team.
It was a day mixed of mixed results for Canada in curling, with Rachel Homan coming back to beat Switzerland’s Silvana Tirinzoni 10-8 while Kevin Koe fell 8-6 to Switzerland’s Peter De Cruz.
Canada sat third in the overall medal standings after nine days of competition with 16 — five gold, five silver and six bronze. Norway led with 26, followed by Germany with 18.
Norway and Germany each have nine gold medals, followed by the Netherlands with six and Canada and the United States with five apiece.
At the Phoenix Park freestyle skiing venue, Beaulieu-Marchand said he’s come a long way from the Sochi Games four years ago when he finished 12th.