Canada stole the show at the season-opening freeski halfpipe World Cup at Copper Mountain in Colorado on Saturday, earning a double podium finish in both the women’s and men’s events.
Erin, Ont., native Rachael Karker captured gold in the women’s event after earning a score of 89.50, finishing ahead of silver medallist Amy Fraser of Calgary (85.25).
“I’m really happy. It was our first competition since the Olympics. I’m glad to have started off the season well,” Karker said.
“I wiped out in a training run just before the final, and I wasn’t even sure I’d be able to compete. In the end though, I felt fine, and everything went really well.”
Rachael Karker of Erin, Ont., wins the women’s World Cup freeski halfpipe event with a score of 89.50.
Estonia’s Kelly Sildaru rounded out the women’s podium with bronze (82.00).
Dillan Glennie of Courtenay, B.C., also cracked the top five, finishing fifth with a score of 64.75.
Freestyle skier Amy Fraser of Calgary finishes second in the World Cup women’s halfpipe event in Colorado.
In Saturday’s men’s event, Calgary’s Brendan Mackay (92.50) and Noah Bowman (91.00) won silver and bronze, respectively.
American Birk Irving topped the podium after finishing just ahead of Mackay with 93.75.
“I’m really happy to have had such a great day,” Mackay said. “It had been ages since our last competition, and I’m proud of what I accomplished today. I had the chance to try some new tricks during my runs. Overall, it was very positive.”
Simon d’Artois of Whistler, B.C., also qualified for the final, finishing 10th (35.00).
The Calgary native settled for silver after leading much of the men’s freeski World Cup halfpipe event in Colorado.
The Copper Mountain event is the first of four freeski halfpipe World Cups this season.
Calgary will host a pair of competitions from Jan. 19-21, which will be followed by the final stop at Mammoth Mountain in California (Feb. 1-4).
The kid from Calgary made a nice comeback to reach the podium in Copper Mountain.