Canada once again tops podium in snowboarding

THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Canada's Jasey Jay Anderson celebrates gold during the medal ceremony for the men's parallel giant slalom at Cypress Mountain today.

Another dazzling performance by a Canadian snowboarder earned Canada a gold medal today, and helped push the country into the Winter Olympic history books.

Veteran Canadian snowboarder Jasey Jay Anderson rallied back in the second run of the parallel giant slalom final to capture gold at Cypress Mountain, earning Canada its 12th medal – two more than any other Winter Olympics host country.

Down .75 of a second to Austrian Benjamin Karl after the first head-to-head run, Anderson charged back to beat the current World Cup leader by .35 of a second amidst near whiteout conditions.

France's Mathieu Bozzetto won bronze while Canadians Matthew Morison and Michael Lambert finished 11th and 12th.

It's the Canadian Snowboard Team's third medal of the Games with Squamish's Maëlle Ricker winning snowboard cross gold and Canmore Alta.'s Mike Robertson winning snowboard cross silver.

“This is a tremendous achievement for all of our athletes,” said Canada Snowboard chief executive officer Tom McIllfaterick.

“It is also a testament to the program we've built over the past four years, and the incredibly dedicated coaches and technical staff who have supported the athletes on the road to these results. I'm incredibly proud of everyone in our organization for sharing a vision and for making it happen.”

The 34-year-old Anderson of Mount Tremblant, Que. is ranked third on the World Cup circuit but had competed in three previous Winter Olympics without having earned a medal.

“I just worked, worked, worked to be the best I could be. A true athlete thrives on adversity so I tried to be a true athlete,” said Anderson, who is also known as the Canadian Rocket and Old Man.

Anderson placed 16th at the Nagano Winter Games in 1998 before placing 29th and 20th respectively at the Salt Lake City and Torino Olympics in 2002 and 2006. In Torino, he also placed fifth in snowboard cross.

Anderson, who spends his summers running a blueberry farm in Quebec, had his family cheering him on in today’s wet weather, including his wife Manon Morin and daughters Jora, 4, and Jy, 3.

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