Dominique Maltais nabs silver in ladies’ SBX
Canada’s Dominique Maltais has won a silver medal in ladies’ snowboard cross. It is her second Olympic medal, adding to a bronze at Turin 2006.
“It’s a good revenge for Vancouver. I wanted to prove to the world that I could do better than in Vancouver,” said Maltais, who was 20th in this event four years ago.
Dominique Maltais at the victory ceremony, Sochi 2014
The road to the final wasn’t easy for Maltais. She finished a dramatic semi-final in first place, after rival Lindsey Jacobellis of the USA crashed while in the lead, and Maltais narrowly cut around her. In the final, Maltais was again patient, edging into a medal position and holding on as the field spaced out. Eva Samkova of the Czech Republic won the big final, Chloé Trespeuch of France was third.
Dominique Maltais during snowboard cross competition at Sochi 2014.
The medal highlights an excellent World Cup season for the 33-year-old, who leads the FIS standings. She has also won three consecutive Crystal Globes as the overall World Cup champion. “I wanted to enjoy everything, especially this one as I knew it will be the last one. I never tried so hard as I did for this,” she said.
Maltais overcame a recent knee injury that disrupted her training in the lead up to Sochi. Teammate and 2010 Olympic Champion Maëlle Ricker crashed in the quarter-final.
