Beaulieu-Marchand fights through injuries for ski slopestyle bronze
With two skiers remaining, Alex Beaulieu-Marchand sat in bronze medal position in Sunday’s final run of the men’s ski slopestyle. While a medal was not guaranteed, Beaulieu-Marchand had already gotten when he came for at PyeongChang 2018.
“I skied the best that I skied in my life today – and that’s what was important for me, and that’s it,” said the 23-year-old. “It’s cool that I got the bronze medal, but I’m more happy about the way that I skied.”
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Team Canada’s athlete Alex Beaulieu-Marchand wins Bronze in the Men’s Slopestyle Skiing competition at Phoenix Snow Park during the Olympic Winter Games, in Bokwang, South Korea, Sunday, February 18, 2018. Photo/David Jackson
The last two competitors were unable to match Beaulieu-Marchand’s second run score of 92.40, giving Canada its first ever Olympic medal in men’s ski slopestyle. While it would be understandable for someone in Beaulieu-Marchand’s position to be on pins and needles as the final two skiers performed their runs, the Quebec City native said he was at ease.
“It’s out of my control. Whatever is out of my control I try to not think about. I came here to do my skiing and show the world what I can do on my skis and that’s what I did.”
It was a remarkable run for Beaulieu-Marchand given the injuries he has been fighting through during and prior to the Olympic Games. With a taped up back and a knee injury, the Canadian has had limited opportunities for practice runs. Beaulieu-Marchand was able to fight through the pain on Sunday, putting down one of the best runs of his careers.
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Team Canada’s athlete Alex Beaulieu-Marchand wins Bronze in the Men’s Slopestyle Skiing competition at Phoenix Snow Park during the Olympic Winter Games, in Bokwang, South Korea, Sunday, February 18, 2018. Photo/David Jackson
“I’ve had such a hard time in the last couple days and months… to put it all together today was unreal. I just had this crazy feeling. I was skiing so good today. I’ve never skied that good, I think, in my life. The jumps I was landing so consistently, those are jumps that I barely practice. I did more triple flips today than I did in my entire life before.”
“I just went for it and made every run count – and that’s how I made it happen.”
While Beaulieu-Marchand may have been hurting physically, his mental strength was strong, something he credits to his past experiences.
This was the second Olympic Games for Beaulieu-Marchand, who finished 12th at Sochi 2014. He was the lone Canadian to qualify for event, which was making its Olympic debut. The result in PyeongChang was “incomparable” to Sochi.
Team Canada’s athlete Alex Beaulieu-Marchand wins Bronze in the Men’s Slopestyle Skiing competition at Phoenix Snow Park during the Olympic Winter Games, in Bokwang, South Korea, Sunday, February 18, 2018. Photo/David Jackson
“I was young, 19 years old, and just not in the right state of mind,” he said. “Here, I didn’t care about the results at all. I was here for my skiing and I think that just helped me a lot. Back then, I was stressing more, just trying to make it as a professional skier.
“Now I’m more of a veteran, more of an experienced skier and I’ve been through the hard times. I think my mindset is, I’m not a medal or Olympic medal away from happiness. With that mindset, I don’t have anything to lose coming here. The only thing I want is to show the world my skiing. I did it and it got me a bronze medal and I’m super happy about that.”
While winning a medal may not have been the primary goal for Beaulieu-Marchand at these Games, he said he can’t wait to hang the medal around the necks of the people who helped him reached this point. One of those people is likely his sister, Sophie, who he gave a special shoutout to after one of his runs.
Team Canada’s athlete Alex Beaulieu-Marchand wins Bronze in the Men’s Slopestyle Skiing competition at Phoenix Snow Park during the Olympic Winter Games, in Bokwang, South Korea, Sunday, February 18, 2018. Photo/David Jackson
“My sister, she is looking for a boyfriend,” Beaulieu-Marchand said in a media scrum after the event. “She’s really nice. She has an MBA, she’s beautiful, she’s intelligent… any guy out there, go message her, go check her out. She deserves someone great.”
Sunday’s medal win was Canada’s sixth bronze of the Games, improving the total haul to 16 so far. While Beaulieu-Marchand was the lone Canadian men’s ski slopestyle medal winner, it was a good day for the country on the hill with Teal Harle finishing fifth and Evan McEachran sixth.
