Bilodeau Gives Canada First Gold on Home Soil

Courtesy of 2010.johnbiehler.com, Flickr

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This is why we watch the Olympics. Yeah, the stakes are high and the competition is amazing, but the real catch are those tearjerker stories. So far, there has been no better sob story than Canada's. Our neighbors up north are wizards in the winter sports, yet in neither of the two previous Olympics held in Canada—Montreal in '76 and Calgary in '88—has a homegrown Canadian won gold on native soil. They can now scratch that one off the list: In yesterday's men's moguls event, Montreal skier Alex Bilodeau positively stormed the bumps in a 23.17-second run, popping a back double full jump and an insane back flip along the way. The crowd, of course, went wild. Standing in that crowd was Bilodeau's older brother, Frederic, who has cerebral palsy, and whom the younger Bilodeau credits with giving him strength. “Growing up with a handicapped person puts everything in perspective. He taught me so many things in life," Bilodeau told reporters at the finish. My parents did, too. I have everything on my side. For me, everything was perfect.”

Ex-Canadian Dale Begg-Smith, who now competes for Australia, took silver. American Bryon Wilson, who only qualified for the Games at the last minute, took the bronze.

Alex Bilodeau