Bellemare and Purnelle-Faniel grab ski slopestyle bronze in France
Alex Bellemare and Anouk Purnelle-Faniel landed bronze medals in ski slopestyle at the FIS World Cup in Font Romeu, France.
After snowy conditions cancelled the first FIS freestyle skiing World Cup finals of the season, two Canadians found themselves on the podium based on their qualification rankings.
On Thursday Alex Bellemare impressed judges with a score of 90.60, which secured the Canadian a bronze medal on Saturday. Mcrae Williams from the United States topped the podium with a 92.80, while Sweden’s Jesper Tjader secured silver with a 91.40.
Related: Bellemare wins slopestyle title at PyeoneChang 2018 test event
With the women’s qualification round taking place on Saturday, skiers overcame difficult weather conditions in hopes of earning a spot in final scheduled for later that day. Canada’s Purnelle-Faniel scored a 78.40 which allowed her to leave Font Romeu with a bronze. Norway’s Johanna Killi took home silver (80.0), while Tess LeDuex won took home gold (81.60) at home.
The weekend’s event marked the start of the PyeongChang 2018 qualification period. With Olympic qualification in sight, the five event SFR Freestyle Tour will attract the world’s top slopestyle skiers over the next two months.
Related: International competitions coming to Canada this winter
The circuit will continue through February, stopping in Italy, the United States, Switzerland and Canada. Fans from the true north will have the opportunity to watch their favourite slopestyle skiers and snowboarders in Quebec City at the World Cup from February 9-12.
