Monday, February 15, 2010
Feb 15
I had the good fortune to be able to watch the Mens Moguls Final live last night. Wow. The start order for the top twenty in the world was determined by their runs in the qualifying event earlier in the day. Alex Bilideau had the second best run so he was second last to go.
The other 3 Canadians, whose names we have already forgotten, put in fabulous performances, at one point occupying two of the three medal sofas in the finish area. The drama increased with every skier but reached fever pitch when an American who was lucky to be even at the Olympics knocked the Canadian from the Gold Medal Chair with only three skiers to go. The very stoic Canadian born Australian and Gold Medal winner in this event at Turin, skied an excellant run so he deservedly took his place on the Gold Medal Chair. Then it was Alex's turn. With my heart in my mouth, I watched him ski well to the first jump, do a 720 degree flip, successfully land it. and then appear to be very fast but on the edge of control, down to the second jump, where he did a huge back flip, land it successfully and then cross the finish in under 24 seconds, the fastest so far. Then it seemed an eternity as we waited for the judges verdict, then, the look of true joy and happiness on both Alex's and his brother's face when his score was the best so far. The last skier had a great run as well, the fastest of the night, and not having any expertise in this discipline other than I have skied moguls many times in my life had to rely on the expert commentators to point out two errors that he made. Another indeterminable delay but finally Alex was very deservedly confirmed as the Gold Medal winner.
The other 3 Canadians, whose names we have already forgotten, put in fabulous performances, at one point occupying two of the three medal sofas in the finish area. The drama increased with every skier but reached fever pitch when an American who was lucky to be even at the Olympics knocked the Canadian from the Gold Medal Chair with only three skiers to go. The very stoic Canadian born Australian and Gold Medal winner in this event at Turin, skied an excellant run so he deservedly took his place on the Gold Medal Chair. Then it was Alex's turn. With my heart in my mouth, I watched him ski well to the first jump, do a 720 degree flip, successfully land it. and then appear to be very fast but on the edge of control, down to the second jump, where he did a huge back flip, land it successfully and then cross the finish in under 24 seconds, the fastest so far. Then it seemed an eternity as we waited for the judges verdict, then, the look of true joy and happiness on both Alex's and his brother's face when his score was the best so far. The last skier had a great run as well, the fastest of the night, and not having any expertise in this discipline other than I have skied moguls many times in my life had to rely on the expert commentators to point out two errors that he made. Another indeterminable delay but finally Alex was very deservedly confirmed as the Gold Medal winner.
It is now the next day and I have seem replay after replay, and I am sure that there will be many more in the coming days. weeks. months and years, but it is just not the same when you know the outcome, thank you CTV for live coverage.
// posted by jhb @ 11:26 AM 
Comments:
<< Home
Very interesting commentary on your thoughts and feelings about that specific Olympic event. Perhaps another event , just a bit more recent (Tuesday February 16 to be exact) when Maelle Ricker won gold in the snowboard cross, warrants the same type of overview. Doesn't this second gold medal win for Canada event cry out for a " What were you doing when ?" type of analysis? What were your thoughts, feelings, and observations as she slipped over that final line with a guranteed gold medal in her pocket. Tell us please!!
# posted by 
: February 18, 2010 1:38 AM
: February 18, 2010 1:38 AM << Home
Subscribe to Posts [Atom]
Post a Comment