Weekend Roundup: Oldham & McMorris make history at X Games, Strate claims first World Cup podium
It was a historic weekend for a few Canadian skiers and snowboarders.
Over in Aspen, Megan Oldham became the first to ever land a triple cork in women’s ski or snowboard competition while Mark McMorris claimed sole possession of the Winter X Games medal record. As Mikaël Kingsbury continued his reign of the moguls on home snow, Abigail Strate soared to her first career World Cup podium in ski jumping.
Here’s what you might have missed:
X Games: Oldham and McMorris made history on Buttermilk Mountain
Megan Oldham won two gold medals at the Winter X Games in Aspen. It started in the women’s ski big air where she landed a leftside triple cork 1440 that earned her a perfect score of 50. Before Friday night, no woman skier had landed a triple on snow in either a contest or practice.
Combined with her rightside double cork 1260, it was more than enough for the victory. She won her second gold on Sunday when she took top spot in women’s ski slopestyle.
Mark McMorris won gold in men’s snowboard slopestyle for his 22nd career X Games medal, 11 of which are gold. He has been champion of the slopestyle event seven times. He now stands alone with the most Winter X Games medals and is fifth on the all-time X Games medal count. Earlier in the weekend he finished fourth in the men’s snowboard big air competition.
There were three other Canadian medals as Rachael Karker won silver in the women’s ski superpipe event, Teal Harle captured silver in men’s ski big air, and Laurie Blouin finished with the bronze medal in the women’s snowboard big air event.
Freestyle Skiing: Kingsbury reigns in moguls à la maison
Mikaël Kingsbury won his 77th career World Cup gold medal in front of hometown fans on Friday night. He claimed the moguls win with 85.37 points, defeating Olympic champion Walter Wallberg of Sweden.
READ: Freestyle skiing: Mikaël Kingsbury wins gold and silver at Val Saint Côme
Three other Canadians had qualified for the first round of the final. Elliot Vaillancourt (76.63) and Louis-David Chalifoux (76.52) finished in 9th and 10th place, respectively, while Julien Viel placed 12th. On the women’s side, Maia Schwinghammer earned the best result of her career as she advanced into the second round of the final and placed fifth with a score of 72.92 points.
On Saturday, Kingsbury returned to the podium with a silver medal in the dual moguls competition as Wallberg took the win in the final showdown.
Skeleton: Rahneva wins world championship bronze in Switzerland
Mirela Rahneva won her first career individual medal in women’s skeleton at the IBSF World Championships in St. Moritz, Switzerland. It is Canada’s first world championship medal in skeleton since 2015. Jane Channell finished in sixth place after having been positioned third following the first two heats.
READ: Mirela Rahneva claims skeleton bronze medal at IBSF World Championships
Rahneva joined forces with Blake Enzie to finish sixth in the skeleton mixed team competition on Sunday. That event will make its Olympic debut at Milano Cortina 2026.
Ski Jumping: Abigail Strate claims first World Cup podium
Abigail Strate checked off another career accomplishment on Saturday at the FIS Ski Jumping World Cup in Hinterzarten, Germany. She scored a total 236.3 points for her two jumps to earn bronze in the women’s large hill. It was her first ever World Cup podium following a couple of close fourth-place finishes in December.
READ: Ski Jumping: Abigail Strate earns first World Cup podium
Alpine Skiing: Number 7 is lucky after all
A pair of Canadian alpine skiers posted strong seventh-place results in FIS World Cup races over the weekend. Jeffrey Read earned his career-best result in super-G in Cortina d’Ampezzo Italy on Saturday. It is his second ever top-10 finish, tying the seventh-place he achieved in a downhill last March.
On Sunday, Laurence St-Germain recorded her season’s best at the FIS World Cup in Spindleruv Mlyn, Czechia as she placed seventh in a slalom race. It was her second top-10 of the season and her best World Cup finish since November 2020.
“It was great to put together two solids runs and I’m really happy to be back in the top 10,” said St-Germain. “The crowd was amazing today, cheering and supporting everyone. This gives me a lot of motivation to prepare for the world championships.” The FIS World Championships start February 6 in Courchevel Meribel, France.
Bobsleigh: Appiah and Ribi get busy in the monobob
Both Canadians finished in the top-10 of the women’s monobob at the IBSF World Championships on Sunday in St. Moritz, Switzerland. Cynthia Appiah finished in sixth place and Bianca Ribi locked up ninth position. They’ll be back in the drivers’ seats for the two-woman event which starts on Friday.
Cross-Country Skiing: Antoine Cyr storms into top-10
Antoine Cyr earned his third top-10 finish of the FIS World Cup season as he placed eighth in the 20km classic mass start race in Les Rousses, France on Sunday.
The 24-year-old was competing in his first World Cup stop following a recovery period after the epic Tour de Ski over the holiday season.
“I am really happy with today’s race. I wanted to see where I was at before the world championships and I feel like I am I good shape,” said Cyr. The FIS Nordic Ski World Championships start February 21 in Planica, Slovenia.
