Brendan Mackay skis to second World Cup gold in Calgary cold
It was a great final day of competition for Canadians at the FIS freeski halfpipe World Cup in Calgary as Brendan Mackay and Noah Bowman won gold and bronze, respectively, in the men’s event while Rachael Karker added a silver medal of her own in the women’s event. This is Canada’s second three-podium night of the Snow Rodeo week.
One of the main storylines leading up to Saturday’s freeski halfpipe World Cup was the bitter cold that had been hanging over much of western Canada for the past week. However, on Saturday the weather pattern shifted, the temperatures rose, and the persistent Calgary winds rolled in. Despite the conditions, Canadians were able to exhibit some remarkable skiing that landed them on the podium.
After securing his first World Cup victory two days ago, Brendan Mackay was back on-top in his hometown with the gold medal on Saturday night. Posting 93.40 points in his first run of the evening, Mackay took his second freeski halfpipe World Cup in just three days. His first career victory came on Thursday night in Calgary.
READ: Mackay golden in the halfpipe as three Canadians medal in Calgary
Mackay was joined on the podium by Noah Bowman who took the bronze medal after posting 88.00 points in his second run. Bowman had a bit of a redemption after he finished fourth on Thursday. American Alex Ferreira finished with the. silver medal and a score of 90.40.
In the women’s final, Rachael Karker was able to improve her third-place finish from Thursday’s competition, posting 89.40 points in her first run of the day to win silver. She also extends her impressive World Cup podium streak to eight straight events.
China’s Eileen Gu finished with the gold medal after posting the top score of 92.80. Third place went to American Hanna Faulhaber with 88.60 points, just ahead of Cassie Sharpe, who finished in fourth position (83.60).
From Calgary, the FIS Freeski World Cup is heading down to Mammoth Mountain US Grand Prix for slopestyle and halfpipe competition throughout the week..
