SNOWBOARDING:
Surging Lamoureux 2nd in Calgary halfpipe
CALGARY, Alberta — It was a stellar Saturday for Canada at the LG Snowboard FIS Word Cup with a total of four podium finishes, including in the Olympic discipline of halfpipe as Justin Lamoureux grabbed second place.
Canada made history twice Saturday, first by hosting the first FIS World Cup slopestyle finals, and second by hosting two FIS World Cup finals in one day.
The halfpipe finals were held Saturday evening under the bright lights at WinSport Canada’s Canada Olympic Park in Calgary, Alberta.
Canadian Lamoureux had a second-place finish with 43.6 points, posting his best-ever result on the FIS World Cup tour. In his first run, Lamoureux dropped in smoothly, landing a switch backside 540, cab 900, switch method and cab 720 then ending with a frontside 720.
“This is a good confidence builder and I’m happier with the runs I’m landing, and the ability to change runs on the spot. I’m really happy right now,” said Lamoureux, who will be representing Canada at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games.
Lamoureux reached the podium for the second time in his career. His previous podium was in December 2002 at Stoneham, Que.
“My confidence is building. I’m probably right where I want to be and the tricks are coming along,” added Lamoureux, ranked fifth in the World Cup standings.
Arthur Longo of France took the top spot on the day with 45.1 points. Ben Kilner of Great Britain scored 40.3 points in his best run, earning him third place.
Longo, 21, won gold in his first World Cup finals appearance, stepping onto the podium for the first time. Longo has only 13 World Cup starts.
Canadian Brendan Davis came in 14th and Derek Livingston 18th.
In women’s riding, China continued its domination on the FIS World Cup tour, placing four riders in the top five. Last week at Stoneham, the Chinese swept the podium.
Zhifeng Sun of China was first with 43.3 points followed by teammate Xuetong Cai with 42.1 points. Holly Crawford of Australia finished third with 40.8 points.
The Chinese riders hold the first four spots of the World Cup rankings. Cai leads the Chinese charge with 3,040 points.
Sun took her second career victory. In 19 World Cup starts, the Chinese rider has stepped onto the podium six times.
Canadian Mercedes Nicoll placed seventh, just shy of qualifying for finals. Sarah Conrad finished ninth. SRC
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