Weekend Roundup: History on the bobsleigh track, lots of success on snow
The countdown to Beijing 2022 continues and Team Canada didn’t stop working over the weekend. Mikaël Kingsbury had a two-medal haul in freestyle skiing, Christine de Bruin and Cynthia Appiah had a double podium in monobob, while Eliot Grondin raced to a silver in snowboard cross. And that’s not all!
Catch up on all the World Cup medals and Canadian success achieved across the globe over the last few days:
Racing to the podium in Innichen
In the final ski cross World Cup before the holidays, Canadians were back on the podium with three bronze medals. On Sunday, in the women’s Big Final, Brittany Phelan stood on the third step of the podium while Reece Howden matched that result in the men’s Big Final.
READ: Phelan and Howden race to a pair of ski cross bronze medals in Italy
On Monday, Marielle Thompson earned her own bronze medal as Canadian women claimed all the spots from third to sixth. Hannah Schmidt finished just off the podium while Courtney Hoffos and Phelan finished 1-2 in the Small Final to place fifth and sixth overall.
Speeding to silver!
In the last Big Final of 2021 at the snowboard cross World Cup in Cervinia, Italy, Eliot Grondin captured a silver medal. This silver medal is his first World Cup podium of the season and fourth of his career.
READ: Eliot Grondin races to World Cup silver in Italy
Kingsbury does it again
Mikaël Kingsbury won his second straight gold in dual moguls on Saturday at the Freestyle World Cup in Alpe d’Huez, France. It is his third World Cup victory of the season.
READ: Kingsbury gold again in dual moguls
Once again, it was a great bounce back performance for Kingsbury, who on Friday finished the super final of the moguls event with a bronze medal around his neck.
READ: Mikaël Kingsbury wins bronze in France
A pair of bronze on the Dew Tour
A couple of Canadians reached the podium in Olympic events at the Dew Tour in Copper Mountain, Colorado. Mark McMorris won bronze in snowboard slopestyle while Brendan Mackay added his own bronze in ski superpipe. In the streetstyle events, Sebastien Toutant won snowboard silver and Max Moffatt won ski bronze. Both claimed the best trick prize as well.
READ: McMorris and Mackay fly to bronze on the Dew Tour
Records broken on the bobsleigh track
At the IBSF World Cup in Altenberg, Germany, Team Kripps (Justin Kripps, Cam Stones, Ryan Sommer and Ben Coakwell) came away with a season-best silver in Sunday’s four-man race. This medal was particularly special for Coakwell who tied Lascelles Brown for the most World Cup medals in four-man competition by a Canadian brakeman.
READ: Team Kripps claims season-best silver at World Cup
For the first time in over a decade, two Canadian bobsleigh athletes shared the podium on Saturday. Christine de Bruin captured gold and Cynthia Appiah captured silver in the monobob at the IBSF World Cup. This was the first World Cup win of de Bruin’s career, while Appiah adds her third medal in the monobob this season.
READ: Bobsleigh: De Bruin and Appiah achieve rare double podium
Overtime heroes!
Canada has won four of the six games played in the nine-game Rivalry Series against Team USA. On Wednesday in the first of two games in St. Louis, Marie-Philip Poulin scored her second goal of the night as Canada edged the United States in a 2-1 overtime victory. Poulin had a power play goal to bring Canada to their first lead. Ann-Renee Desbiens made 31 saves.
In Friday’s game, Poulin came in clutch once again to hand another overtime victory to Canada. Sarah Fillier and Emily Clark also scored for Canada, and Emerance Maschmeyer made 28 saves.
Game seven is Monday night in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Gliding on the Olympic Oval
Canadian long track speed skaters won a total of ten medals, including three gold, at the ISU Four Continents Speed Skating Championships hosted at Calgary’s Olympic Oval. On the opening day, Ted-Jan Bloemen and Kaleb Muller won gold and silver respectively in the men’s 5000m event. Laura Hall brought home silver in the 3000m. In the team sprint, Carolina Hiller, Kali Christ and Lindsey Kent skated to bronze.
On the second day, Christ went on to be Canada’s top performer, bringing home gold in the women’s 1500m. Bloemen finished second in the men’s 1500m and Hayden Mayeur also earned silver in the men’s mass start.
On the final day of competition, Canadian long track speed skaters earned three medals. Bloemen, Mayeur and Muller won gold in the men’s team pursuit. In the women’s team pursuit, Christ, Kent and Laura Hall captured a silver medal. Christ also won bronze in the women’s 1000m event.
Making a splash at the world swimming championships
Canadian swimmers have had their best ever showing at the FINA World Swimming Championships (25m) in Abu Dhabi and there’s still one more day to go. After five of six competition days, Canada stands with six gold (a team record), five silver and one bronze for 12 medals.
On the first day, a final few strokes by three-time Olympian Katerine Savard gave Canada the gold in the women’s 4x100m freestyle relay. Tessa Cieplucha was also victorious in the women’s 400m individual medley and Rebecca Smith added a silver in a Canadian record time in the 200m freestyle. On Friday, Maggie Mac Neil anchored Canada to the gold medal in the 4x50m mixed freestyle relay and Kylie Masse won a silver in the women’s 100m backstroke. Masse added another silver medal in the women’s 200m backstroke on Saturday for Canada’s sixth medal.
On Sunday, Summer McIntosh and Joshua Liendo savoured their first individual major international success. McIntosh won silver in the women’s 400m freestyle. Liendo won bronze in the 50m freestyle, breaking his Canadian record once again.
On Monday, Sydney Pickrem added a gold in the women’s 200m individual medley, Mac Neil and Masse finished 1-2 in the women’s 50m backstroke as Mac Neil broke the world record with her time of 25.27 seconds, and then McIntosh, Kayla Sanchez, Savard and Smith won gold in the women’s 4x200m freestyle relay with an Americas record time of 7:32.96.
Masse now has 10 career medals combined from the long course and short course world championships, the most ever by a Canadian swimmer.
Weightlifting silver for Santavy
Boady Santavy won a silver medal in the snatch in the men’s 96kg division at the IWF World Championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. This medal is the first for a Canadian man at the weightlifting world championships since 1953.
He lifted 178kg in the snatch and 201kg in the clean and jerk to place fifth overall with a total weight of 379kg at the meet that ended Friday. Santavy’s total earned him the Commonwealth championship and qualified him for the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
