Canada Gets Its Gold

The drought is over. And Canada has a new sports hero.

Alexandre Bilodeau captured a gold medal in the men’s moguls event Sunday night, marking him forever as the first Canadian athlete to win Olympic gold on Canadian soil. The 22-year-old from Montreal wasn’t the favorite coming in, but on a gloriously sunny day in West Vancouver he brought home a first-place finish — and forever cemented his name in the Canadian sports hall of fame.

Before Bilodeau had his final run he was forced to watch as Dale Begg-Smith of Australia knocked his fellow countrymen off the podium with an unreal run that I thought would for sure win him the gold.

At this point I was pissed because Begg-Smith was born in Vancouver and lived in Canada until he was 15. He only left for Australia because he had disputes with the Canadian coaches about his dedication. Had he won it would have been a real kick in the nuts.

But Bilodeau came through with a marvellous performance under incredible pressure, firing up a 26.75 score on the second-last run of the evening in perfect weather.

The last skier, Guilbaut Colas of France, had a chance to knock him out of first but couldn’t get it done. Colas was faster but both his jumps were lackluster and he even missed a grab on his second jump which really hurt him.

As for Bilodeau, he was clearly pumped on the whole evening. “It’s too good to be true,” he told CTV as the crowd chanted “Bilodeau, Bilodeau, Bilodeau.” “There’s more to come. We have such a strong team.

“The party’s just starting for Canada.”

More likely, the party’s just starting in downtown Vancouver. The place was nuts on Saturday night; packed with all sorts of partiers and tourists listening to live music and checking out the scene. Even the Canadian Luge team, who didn't win a single medal, had fans at their outdoor interview. Sunday night should be even crazier given Bilodeau’s gold.

Going today I had no idea who Bilodeau was. That was until TSN ran a piece on him and his relationship with his older brother Frederic who has cerebral palsy. The two are very close and tonight Frederic was at the finish line cheering wildly for his younger sibling. Bilodeau was close to tears when he spoke to CTV about his brother and his family.

“A lot,” he said when asked how much of his historic medal belongs to Frederic. “It’s really getting me right now. My brother is my inspiration. Growing up with handicapped people puts everything back in perspective and he taught me so many things in life. My parents did, too.”

Now that Bilodeau has won a gold medal the theme of the Olympics can change. No longer will every athlete have to feel the pressure of trying to be the 1st to win gold. Instead they can simply focus on doing their best and trying to make Canada proud with their performance.

Random YouTube Video