Canada's Mackay uses home hill advantage to take gold medal in men's ski halfpipe World Cup
CBC
Canada's Brendan Mackay continued his hot streak in his hometown of Calgary winning a second consecutive World Cup gold medal in the men's ski halfpipe on Saturday.
Mackay, 24, was one of three Canadians to reach the podium between the men's and women's competition.
Unlike his performance Thursday, the Calgary native had his best run of the day on his first one, scoring 93.40 and following it up with scores of 74.60 and 93.20 in his final two.
Despite his fellow competitors being bothered by the gusty winds during the event, MacKay remained unfazed. He also acknowledged that competing at home gave him an advantage.
"The wind made things pretty difficult, but I'm used to riding the halfpipe here in Calgary. I gave it my all on each run," he said.
Noah Bowman, also from Calgary, finished third with a high score of 88.00, placing just behind silver medallist Alex Ferreira of the U.S. (90.40).
The 29-year-old Bowman scored 84.00 on his first run and 42.00 in his final one, with his top score coming on his second run.
"I'm really happy with my day. The conditions were pretty extreme but I was able to pull it off," Bowman said. "It was great to be able to get up onto the podium with Brendan, who was excellent."
On the women's side, Rachael Karker picked up her second medal of the week, this time winning silver in the ski halfpipe.
Karker, of Erin, Ont., who won bronze on Thursday, finished with a high score of 89.40.
Similar to Mackay, her best run was her first one.
"I feel really great and I'm so happy with my performance. It's so nice to be back on the podium, especially here in Canada," Karker said.
The 24-year-old finished just behind China's Gu Ailing Eileen who won her second straight gold medal with a top score of 92.80.
American Hanna Faulhaber placed third with her best score being 88.60.
Hockey Canada unveiled the Olympic hockey jerseys on Thursday for the men’s, women’s and Para teams that will compete at the Milan-Cortina Games.
On a night Taylor Heise and Abbey Murphy combined for four goals in Team USA women's hockey Rivalry Series-opening 4-1 win over Canada, the forwards deferred the spotlight to teammate Laila Edwards.
The NHL now has a 900-goal club.
Para hockey player Raphaëlle Tousignant, the first woman to play for Canada in a major international competition, says she has been diagnosed with breast cancer.
Canada's summer and winter Olympians, along with other athletes, were left on the outside during Tuesday’s budget announcement by the federal government, despite a push in recent months by the Canadian Olympic Committee and national sport organizations for more resources.
Twenty-five players will compete for the Canadian women’s hockey team at the Rivalry Series later this week, as Hockey Canada moves closer to naming the players who will look to defend gold at the Olympics.
Canada's Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier made history at the Skate Canada International figure skating competition on Sunday.