Canada won the World Cup season opener freestyle skiing at Copper Mountain in Colorado on Saturday, taking the podium final in both the men’s and women’s events.
Erin, Ont., native Rachael Karker won gold in the women’s event after scoring 89.50, finishing ahead of silver medalist Amy Fraser of Calgary (85, 25).
“I’m really happy. This is our first competition since the Olympics. I’m happy to have started the season well,” Karker said.
“I was knocked out in a practice session right before the final, and I wasn’t even sure if I could compete. But in the end, I felt fine and everything went very well.”
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Rachael Karker of Erin, Ont., won the Women’s World Cup freestyle skiing with a score of 89.50.
Kelly Sildaru of Estonia won bronze on the women’s podium (82.00).
Dillan Glennie of Courtenay, BC, also made the top 5, coming in at 5th with a score of 64.75.
Calgary freestyle skier Amy Fraser finished second in the women’s half-pipe of the World Cup in Colorado.
In Saturday’s men’s event, Brendan Mackay of Calgary (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 glad I had such a great day,” Mackay said. “It’s been a long time since our last race and I’m proud of what I achieved today. I had the chance to try out some new tricks during my run. Overall, that’s the thing. That’s very positive.”
Simon d’Artois of Whistler, BC, also made it to the final, placing 10th (35.00).
The Calgary native won the silver medal after leading the majority of the men’s freestyle skiing event at the World Cup in Colorado.
The Copper Mountain event is the first of four freestyle skiing World Cups this season.
Calgary will host a pair of competitions January 19-21, followed by a final stop at Mammoth Mountain in California (February 1-4).
The boy from Calgary made a great comeback to claim the podium at Copper Mountain.
