OLYMPICS:

Canada will send 18 freestyle podium contenders to Vancouver

Jan. 24, 2010 — The Canadian Press          ►Photo: Jenn Heil and Kristi Richards (Mike Ridewood, CFSA)

After months of number-crunching, position-jockeying and frayed nerves, Canada's freestyle skiers finally know who will represent the host country at next month's Vancouver Olympics.

The 18-member roster became official Sunday with the completion of a World Cup ski cross competition at Whiteface Mountain in Lake Placid, N.Y. The team will be formally introduced at a news conference Monday in Montreal.

The men's aerials entry will be anchored by Steve Omischl of North Bay, Ont., the three-time defending World Cup champion. Omischl will be joined by Warren Shouldice and Kyle Nissen of Calgary, who will each be making their second Games appearance.

Veronika Bauer of Toronto will be the lone Canadian in women's aerials — and only if she's able to compete. Bauer is recovering from post-concussion syndrome, and will be re-evaluated prior to the Olympics.

Jenn Heil of Spruce Grove, Alta., the defending Olympic champion, and Kristi Richards of Pemberton, B.C., make up a formidable 1-2 punch in women's moguls. They'll be joined by Chloe Dufour-Lapointe of Montreal.

Alexandre Bilodeau of Rosemere, Que., represents Canada's strongest medal hope in men's moguls. The defending World Cup champion will compete alongside Vincent Marquis of Quebec City, Pierre-Alexandre Rousseau of Drummondville, Que., and Maxime Gingras of St-Hippolyte, Que.

Seven members of the powerhouse ski cross team round out the roster.

Kelsey Serwa of Kelowna, B.C., Ashleigh McIvor and Julia Murray of Whistler, B.C., and Danielle Poleschuk of Winnipeg make up the women's team, while Chris Del Bosco of Sudbury, Ont., Dave Duncan of Golden, B.C., and Stanley Hayer of Calgary will compete in men's action.

Ski cross, which will make its Olympic debut next month, features a mass start and head-to-head racing on a course with turns, bumps, jumps and rolls. McIvor, Serwa and Murray are all in the top-four in the overall World Cup standings, while Del Bosco is third on the men's side.

The Canadian entry is coming off a disappointing showing at the 2006 Olympics in Torino, where Heil's gold was the team's only medal.  SRC