Canadian Roundup: X Games, Olympic berths, podium domination and more
Mikael Kingsbury and Phillippe Marquis celebrate after finishing first and second, in the FIS Men’s World Cup freestyle moguls event in Calgary on Saturday.
From topping podiums in winter sports, to securing Olympic berths in summer events, Canadians made fans proud from around the world this weekend.
The list is extremely long, so lets get to it!
X Games
Snowboard
READ: O’Brien wins first X Games gold in slopestyle | Parrot, McMorris go 1-2 in big air | McMorris defends slopestyle title
Spencer O’Brien kicked off Canada’s snowboard success with a gold medal in big air. Max Parrot and Mark McMorris followed-up with first and second place finishes in the men’s competition. Less than 24 hours after winning silver, McMorris defended his slopestyle title and Sébastien Toutant joined him on the podium to claim silver.
Skier X (Ski Cross)
READ: Canadians take four skier x medals
In the women’s competition, Olympic medallists Kelsey Serwa and Marielle Thompson took the top two podium spots in that order (reversing their finish from Sochi 2014), followed by Brady Leman and Chris Del Bosco who took the men’s gold and bronze in Aspen.
Freestyle Skiing – Moguls
READ: Canada wins five of six World Cup medals
Japan’s Sho Endo (far left) joins five Canadians – (L-R) Andi Naude, Mikaël Kingsbury, Chloé Dufour Lapointe, Justine Dufour-Lapointe and Phil Marquis – on the moguls World Cup podium in Calgary on January 30, 2016 (Mike Ridewood/CFSA).
Canadian mogulists dominated on home soil again this weekend at the World Cup stop in Calgary. The women’s team sweep the podium for the second weekend in a row after Chloé Dufour-Lapointe, Justine Dufour-Lapointe and Andi Naude finished one through three. In the men’s competition, Mikaël Kingsbury won his third straight moguls title followed by Philippe Marquis who finished second.
Long Track Speed Skating
READ: Canada takes three long track World Cup medals
Ted-Jan Bloemen (right) on the World Cup podium following the men’s 5000m race in Stavanger, Norway on January 30, 2016.
Canadian skaters raced to three bronze medals at the ISU World Cup in Stavanger, Norway. Heather McLean started the third place trend in the women’s 500m, followed by Ted-Jan Bloemen in the men’s 5000m and Gilmore Junio in men’s 500m.
Luge
READ: Canada wins luge bronze in team relay
Olympians Alex Gough, Mitchel Malyk, Tristan Walker and Justin Snith won bronze in the team relay at the FIL World Championships in Königssee, Germany.
Diving
READ: Divers leave FINA Grand Prix with seven medals
Philippe Gagné and Meaghan Benfeito brought home Canada’s first medals of the competition, winning bronze in men’s 3m springboard and women’s 10m platform. On day two, Gagné teamed up with François Imbeau-Dulac to win gold in 3m synchro, then picked up silver in 10m synchro with Vincent Riendeau. Jennifer Abel finished second in women’s 3m springboard before teaming up with Pamela Ware to win 3m synchro bronze. Riendeau won Canada’s final medal of the competition, taking bronze in the 10m platform.
Sailing
Canada claimed Olympic berths in six events at the Sailing World Cup in Miami this weekend, bringing Canada’s boat total for Rio 2016 to nine. All of the successful sailors will now attempt to lock down those spots for themselves in a series of international events over the coming months.
Olympians Nikola Girke and Luke Ramsay secured Canada’s spot in the Olympic debut of the Nacra 17, while Tom Ramshaw got the job done in the Finn class. Brothers Jacob and Graeme Chaplin-Saunders battled in a tight men’s 470 medal race while Allison Surrette and Alexandra Ten Hove qualified Canada in the women’s 470. Olivia Mew and two-time Olympian Zac Plavsic reserved Canada’s spot in the women’s and men’s RS:X events.
Wrestling
Five Canadian women brought home as many medals at the Rio 2016 Olympic test event for wrestling on Saturday and Sunday. Danielle Lappage led the group by winning gold in the 63kg weight class. Dori Yeats (69kg) and Erica Weibe (75kg) fought to silver medals, while Michelle Fazzari (58kg) and Jasmine Mian (48kg) both picked up bronze. While Lappage and Mian have confirmed Olympic berths, Yeats, Wiebe and Fazzari will head to the Pan American qualifying tournament in early March to book their tickets to Rio.
Tennis
READ: Nestor and Stepanek finish runner-up at Australian Open
Daniel Nestor (right) holds the runner-up plate at the Australian Open after the men’s doubles final on January 30, 2016.
Canadian tennis legend Daniel Nestor and Czech partner Radek Stepanek lost the Australian Open men’s doubles final on Saturday. The pair fell 2-6, 6-4, 7-5 to Andy Murray of Great Britain and Brazilian Bruno Soares in Melbourne.
