Alexandre Bilodeau of Rosemère, Que., has won the gold medal in the men's moguls at the Vancouver Olympics - Canada's first-ever first-place finish on home soil.
Canadian expatriate Dale Begg-Smith, the reigning Olympic champion, took the silver for Australia, where he moved when he was a teenager. American Bryon Wilson claimed the bronze on Sunday.
Bilodeau tore through his final run, nailing a back double full flip and finishing in 23.17 seconds.
The crowd at Cypress Mountain erupted as the judges gave him a 26.76 score, catapulting the 22-year-old freestyle skiing star into first place.
Only Guilbault Colas of France stood a chance of dethroning him, skiing last after finishing first in the qualifying round.
Bilodeau jumped from his seat and the crowd roared after the Colas score of 25.74 was revealed.
34-year gold drought ends
His gold comes 33 years and seven months since the Summer Olympic cauldron was lit in Montreal, the first time Canada has hosted an Olympics. Calgary was the site of the Winter Games in 1988, but Canada failed to win gold then as well.
On Sunday, Bilodeau led a strong showing by Canadians.
Vincent Marquis, 25, of Quebec City scored 25.88, while Drummondville's Pierre-Alexandre Rousseau, 30, in his first Olympics after 13 years with the national team, scored 25.83, briefly moving into second place.
In the end, Marquis and Rousseau finished fourth and fifth, respectively.
Maxime Gingras, 24, of St-Hippolyte, Que., rounded out an incredible Canadian performance, finishing 11th.
The event had been billed as a battle between Bilodeau and Vancouver native Begg-Smith.
Read more - http://www.cbc.ca/olympics/freestyleskiing/story/2010/02/14/spo-mensmoguls.html
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