Sport Shorts: Maltais' Crystal Season
Crystal Globe: Dominique Maltais (Petite-Riviere-Saint-Francois, Que.) clinched the women’s snowboard cross Crystal Globe, after finishing 4th Thursday in a World Cup. Maltais dominated the overall standings at 4,800 points with one race left on the season and couldn’t be caught for the discipline’s overall crown. This is her second Crystal Globe, also winning the title in 2006, the same year she captured bronze at the Olympic Winter Games. “The Globe is always my objective at the beginning of a season,” she said after the race. Maltais hit the podium four times this season, including three gold medals and a silver. She sits 2nd in the overall snowboard World Cup race.
Moguls Champs: The newest Canadian moguls champions were crowned over the weekend at the 2011 Canada Post National Championships. Mikael Kingsbury (Deux-Montagnes, Que.) had a perfect event, winning both single and dual moguls events. Rookie-of-the-year Justine Dufour-Lapointe (Montreal) raced against both her big sisters en route to the dual moguls title. Veteran skier Kristi Richards (Summerland, B.C.) took the women’s moguls title for the second straight year.
Aerials Champs: Warren Shouldice (Calgary) and Sabrina Guerin (Laval, Que.) both earned their first Canadian aerials titles over the weekend.
O’Neill Shines: Brandon O’Neill (Edmonton) capped a remarkable return to international competition at the Kyle Shewfelt Gymnastics Festival on Saturday, winning gold medals on floor and vault in a meet pitting Canada against top teams from China and the U.S. Meanwhile, in trampoline, triple Olympic medallist Karen Cockburn (Toronto) won gold at Elite Canada on Sunday in Quebec while Charles Thibault (Quebec City) pulled off an upset victory on the men’s side.
Calvé Represents: The 2011 snowboard World Cup season wrapped up Sunday in Switzerland. In parallel giant slalom, 2010 Olympian Caroline Calvé (Montreal) advanced to the elimination rounds and finished her season with a solid 8th-place result.
Judokas in Portugal: Canadians claimed two silver medals at a European Cup judo tournament in Coimbra, Portugal. Arthur Margelidon and Catherine Beauchemin-Pinard (both of Quebec) nabbed silver medals in 73 and 63 kg respectively.
Cycling: Cyclist Zach Bell (Watson Lake, Yukon) finished 6th in the omnium event at the 2011 Track World Championships. His teammate, Tara Whitten, won gold on the women’s side. (See full story on Olympic.ca.)
Kocher Keeps Rolling: Two-time Olympian and veteran biathlon leader Zina Kocher (Red Deer, Alta.) won three national gold medals over the weekend while senior team rookie, Scott Gow (Calgary), won his first Canadian crown in pursuit.
Diving Medals: Emilie Heymans (St-Lambert, Que.) and Jennifer Abel (Laval, Que.) landed on the podium Friday, winning silver in the 3-metre synchro event in the season’s second World Series diving stop. Abel went on to snatch bronze on Saturday in the 3-metre springboard.
