2010 Memories, Day 3: Alex Bilodeau's gold medal run gets the party started
Credit to Author: Harrison Mooney| Date: Fri, 14 Feb 2020 14:00:43 +0000
Follow along as we look back at the moments that made headlines each day during the 2010 Winter Olympics.
Feb. 14, 2010: Even before Alex Bilodeau’s historic run, there were signs that Vancouver’s Games were about to turn a corner. The women’s moguls competitors had skied the day prior in rain, sleet, and slush. But when Bilodeau made his way up Cypress Mountain for the men’s moguls, looking to improve on training partner Jenn Heil’s silver medal, conditions on the hill had been upgraded to favourable.
Were they ever. After finishing 12th in Turin, Bilodeau qualified for the men’s final in second place. Then he ended the competition with the run of his life, catching big air on the jumps and racking up style points with a back double full on the first and back iron cross on the second. His air and style scores, combined with one of the night’s fastest times, gave him enough points to win Canada’s first gold medal during a Canadian-hosted Olympics.
The change in the national mood was instantaneous. Canadians sang and danced around the Olympic cauldron before spilling out onto Robson Street and turning the downtown core into a sea of red. A great weight had been lifted.
“This is the best feeling ever,” Bilodeau said, upon learning that he was the Olympic champion, and the whole of Canada agreed.
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