A pair of Canadians have clinched spots on the podium in women’s halfpipe freestyle skiing at the Beijing Winter Olympics.
Cassie Sharpe of Calgary won the silver medal with a score of 90.75 while Rachael Karker of Erin, Ont. won the bronze with a score of 87.75 on Thursday.
China’s Eileen Gu, an American-born teenager representing her mother’s homeland, captured gold and collected her third medal of the Games with a score of 95.25.
Canada now has won 22 medals at the Games.
Sharpe, the reigning Olympic champion in the event, was only bested by China’s Gu — who won the gold and her third medal of Games with a blistering score of 95.25. Sharpe’s run was highlighted by a pair of 1080 spins in her second trip down the course, the first time an athlete completed the feat in an Olympic competition. The 29-year-old missed most of the 2021 season after suffering a torn ACL, MCL and fractured femur and barely had any time to get up to speed before the Olympics.
“Absolutely, I doubted it,” Sharpe told CBC. “Actually, yesterday was a year to the day I had surgery. That was definitely in my mind and it was playing heavy on my heart. But all the pieces I’ve put together over the last few months have really just led me to this moment and I’m so glad they came together.”
Karker, 24, is competing in her first Olympic Games after breaking onto the scene in 2019. She is a three-time X-Games medalist and won a silver medal in 2021 at the FIS World Championships in halfpipe.
“It was amazing. We always wanted it to be both of us and I’m so happy we were able to do that and I hope we made Canada proud,” Karker said.
Amy Fraser of Halifax finished in eighth place with a score of 75.25.
The halfpipe competition sees each athlete take three runs down the course with their best score counting in the standings.
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