Source: PEOPLE.com. “Winter Olympics Slopestyle Snowboarding Course Features Recreations of the Great Wall of China.”
By Jocelyn Wong
Sunday, February 20th marks the end of Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics! This was an eventful season for Canada, as we came in 11th overall. Although we didn’t place as high as we did in Pyeongchang 2018, where we came in 3rd overall, we did have some memorable moments worth mentioning!
- Max Parrot – Snowboard, Men’s Snowboard Slopestyle
Maneuvering around the Genting Snow Park in Zhangjiakou and its Great Wall-themed design, Max Parrot saw himself in gold after finishing 2.26 points ahead of Chinese snowboarder Su Yiming of China and 2.43 ahead of fellow Canadian Mark McMorris. His dominant second run consisted of three consecutive triple corks. This is even more inspirational after learning that he is a cancer survivor, and was officially declared cancer-free in 2019!
- Ivanie Blondin, Valerie Maltais, Isabelle Weidemann – Speed Skating, Women’s Team Pursuit
The three Canadian women set a new Olympic record time of 2:53.44 in the final against Japan. Japan was actually the stronger contender, as they had easily won the semi-final and also led most of the laps in the final. However, Canada swiftly gained a lead and passed the finish line when the Japanese team’s Nana Takagi took a hard wipe-out in the last half-lap.
- Charles Hamelin, Maxime Laoun, Steven Dubois, Jordan Pierre-Gilles, Pascal Dion – Speed Skating, Men’s 5000m Relay
These five men received gold medals after beating the South Korean, Italian and Russian competitors. Although only four men raced in the final, Maxime Laoun received a gold medal for contributing in the semifinals. Charles Hamelin, one of the senior skaters on Team Canada, added his sixth medal to his decorated Olympic career, resulting in him becoming Canada’s most decorated Winter Olympian – tying with long track speed skater Cindy Klassen, Canada’s most decorated male Olympian – tying with sprinter Andre De Grasse, and finally and second-most decorated Olympian overall – behind swimmer Penny Oleksiak by one medal.
- Team Canada – Women’s Ice Hockey
Finishing off, Canada’s women’s ice hockey team proves themselves yet again with a 3-2 win against the United States. Goalie Ann-Renee Desbiens made an impressive 38 saves. This was the sixth time the US and Canada fought for the Olympic women’s ice hockey gold since the event was added in 1998. This win added to Canada’s sixth gold– four times against the U.S. and against Sweden in 2006.
Works Cited
“Blondin, Maltais, Weidemann Win Team Pursuit Gold at Beijing 2022.” Team Canada – Official Olympic Team Website, 15 Feb. 2022, olympic.ca/2022/02/15/blondin-maltais-weidemann-win-team-pursuit-gold-at-beijing-2022/. Accessed 23 Feb. 2022.
“Gold for Canada in Men’s 5000m Relay Is 6th Career Olympic Medal for Hamelin.” Team Canada – Official Olympic Team Website, 16 Feb. 2022, olympic.ca/2022/02/16/gold-for-canada-in-mens-5000m-short-track-relay-is-6th-olympic-medal-of-hamelins-career/. Accessed 23 Feb. 2022.
“How Many Gold Medals Does Canada Have? Complete List of 2022 Olympic Winners from Team Canada.” Sportingnews.com, 19 Feb. 2022, http://www.sportingnews.com/ca/olympics/news/canada-gold-medals-2022-olympic-winners/xoeupt5uzljamgdx2epyzrmm. Accessed 23 Feb. 2022.
IOC. “PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Medal Table – Gold, Silver & Bronze.” Olympics.com, 2018, olympics.com/en/olympic-games/pyeongchang-2018/medals. Accessed 23 Feb. 2022.
“Max Parrot of Canada Wins Gold in Men’s Snowboard Slopestyle.” The New York Times, 2022, http://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/06/sports/olympics/snowboarding-mens-slopestyle.html. Accessed 23 Feb. 2022.
PEOPLE.com. “Winter Olympics Slopestyle Snowboarding Course Features Recreations of the Great Wall of China.” PEOPLE.com, PEOPLE.com, 5 Feb. 2022, people.com/sports/beijing-olympics-slopestyle-course-recreates-great-wall/. Accessed 23 Feb. 2022.
Sports, CBC. “GOLD for Canada: Women’s Speed Skating, Team Pursuit | Beijing 2022 Olympics.” YouTube, 15 Feb. 2022, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efSkTnUXmFQ. Accessed 23 Feb. 2022.
The Canadian Press, and Donna Spencer. “Canada Totals 26 Medals, Including Four Gold, in Beijing’s Winter Olympics.” CTVNews, CTV News, 20 Feb. 2022, http://www.ctvnews.ca/sports/canada-totals-26-medals-including-four-gold-in-beijing-s-winter-olympics-1.5788808. Accessed 23 Feb. 2022.
Wyshynski, Greg. “Canada Prevails vs. Rival Team USA to Win Women’s Hockey Gold at Beijing Olympics.” ESPN.com, ESPN, 17 Feb. 2022, http://www.espn.com/olympics/hockey/story/_/id/33309378/canada-prevails-vs-rival-team-usa-win-women-hockey-gold-beijing-olympics. Accessed 23 Feb. 2022.
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