Weekend recap: Osborne-Paradis returns to the podium & more
The sports world loves a good comeback story and Canadian alpine skier Manuel Osborne-Paradis provided one Saturday in Lake Louise, Alberta.
In the men’s downhill event, Osborne-Paradis captured a World Cup silver medal, tied for second on time at 1:50.34 with Guillermo Fayed of France. They were 0.14 seconds behind Norway’s Kjetil Jansrud, the Sochi 2014 downhill bronze medallist.
For Osborne-Paradis, it was his first time to the podium in four years and 10th World Cup medal overall. The Canadian had suffered a series of injuries since 2011 and raced at the Olympic Winter Games this year in Sochi, where he finished 25th in the downhill.
Osborne-Paradis (27) returned to the podium after a four-year hiatus from the top three in a World Cup event.
Racing at home, Osborne-Paradis felt preparation and training were key to getting back on the podium for the first time since Wengen, Switzerland in January 2010, another second place result.
“It feels really good,” Osborne-Paradis said in an Alpine Canada release. “I was nervous today because I knew I could podium and this was the best chance I have had in a long time.”
He credits “a fast training run” to mentally prepare him for Saturday’s competition.
Osborne-Paradis’ teammate, Jan Hudec, ended a 20-year Olympic medal drought for Alpine Canada at Sochi 2014 winning bronze. Hudec finished 19th at Lake Louise with a time of 1:51.58.
Joy in Japan
Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford take their victory lap following the gold medal presentation.
A world away from Alberta’s majestic slopes and on the ice at Osaka, Japan, Canadian Olympians enjoyed more success.
Pairs skaters Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford – Sochi team figure skating silver medallists – dominated to win Grand Prix gold in their event.
A day later, fellow Olympians Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje peerlessly captured the ice dance title.
For both teams this was the second Grand Prix gold of the season. They both previously won Skate Canada International and will next compete in the Grand Prix Final taking place December 11-14 in Barcelona, Spain.
Turkish delight
