Weidemann grabs SILVER, thrilling snowboard cross TONIGHT, freeski slopestyle ALL WEEKEND + MORE!
Olympics Edition
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Freeski Slopestyle Qualification & Final ⛷
OK! She is on a WHOLE. OTHER. LEVEL. Since becoming one of the biggest stories of the Olympic Games, China’s Eileen Gu is back to compete in the Freeski Slopestyle competition this weekend after winning gold in Freeski Big Air earlier this week.
Gu got her first Olympic Games off to a great start, winning GOLD by defeating 2017 World Champion Tess Ledeux of France AND completing a 1620 jump – something she had NEVER done before this competition. 😲 With the confidence and bravery only an 18-year-old could muster to complete a very dangerous jump, Gu went for it, and it paid off!
Representing the great white north is Megan Oldham. Oldham reached the podium for the slopestyle event at the X Games in Aspen last month, and also won the world bronze medal. In the Big Air, she JUST missed the mark, placing fourth.
The slopestyle event involves skiers completing a downhill track filled with tricks, rails, and jumps, hoping to score the most points. I am SO READY to see what’s going to happen. You can’t tell me you’re not either. 😜
You can watch the qualification round of the Freeski Slopestyle on Saturday at 8:50pm ET and catch the final at 8:30pm ET on Sunday on CBC Sports and CBC Gem.
Speed Skating Team Pursuit 👏
It was ANOTHER medal for Canada in women’s speed skating 5000-metre as Isabelle Weidemann grabbed silver in the event, making it her second medal of the games so far. She won bronze in the 3000-metre event last weekend.
Now Weidemann will go for her third medal along with the Canadian women’s speed skaters as the Team Pursuit starts on Saturday. This event sees two teams of three skaters skate six laps in single-elimination races. The team’s time stops when the final skater reaches the finish line, and if one team completely laps the other, the slower team is automatically eliminated.
The team consists of returning skaters Weidemann and Ivanie Blondin, with Valerie Maltais as the newcomer and final piece to this FIRE Canadian trio. Blondin, Maltais and Weidemann have won the team pursuit THREE times on the World Cup circuit this season in Calgary, Salt Lake City and Poland. They are favoured to win gold in Saturday’s event. 🤩
Canada placed fourth in this event in the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang and hopes to get on the podium in these Games.
The Team Pursuit will start with the quarter final on Saturday morning at 2:50am ET on CBC Sports and CBC Gem.
Mixed Team Snowboard Cross 🏂
HERE WE GOOO! Get ready for some Mixed Team Snowboard Cross to hit your screens. You will not want to take your eyes off of this competition, it’s thrilling format and almost chaotic nature keeps you hooked!
Despite Beijing 2022 being the first time this event will be featured at the Olympics, the snowboard cross mixed team event has been a part of the SBX season for almost a decade, having been included at numerous World Cups since the 2012/13 season.
And Canada is hoping for another snowboard cross medal in the mixed event on Friday.
Meryeta O’Dine came up with a surprise bronze medal for Canada in the women’s snowboard cross. She, along with the men’s snowboard cross silver medallist Eliot Grondin and the rest of Canada’s mixed snowboard cross team, will be on the hunt for a medal on Friday.
The entire snowboard cross mixed team event will take place on one day, so mark February 11 on your calendars!
The event will start with the quarter finals at 9pm ET, with the semis taking place half an hour later. And at 9:50pm ET the small final will take place right before the big final, where the best four teams will battle for the gold medal.
Let’s cheer on our Canadian mixed snowboard cross team! Watch the qualifications, semis AND final, Friday starting at 9pm ET on CBC Sports and CBC Gem.
Team Canada hockey in the semis 🇨🇦
GOALS GALORE! Canada faced off against the Swedes in the second Women’s Hockey Quarterfinal matchup and the goal scoring was out of control (in a good way)!
After a perfect 4-0 record throughout the round robin stages, Canada faced Sweden in the quarterfinals. The Canadians finished with the best record after an exciting 4-2 victory against the U.S. on Monday.
Sweden on the other hand, was 2-2 in the group stage after winning its final two games against China and Denmark to nail down the third and final quarterfinal spot in Group B. Since winning silver after a loss to Canada in the 2006 Turin Olympic final and then taking bronze at the 2007 world championship, Sweden has not stood on the podium.
After a commanding 11-0 win for Canada against Sweden, the red and white cruises into the semifinals. Teams will be re-seeded for the semis so we won’t know who Canada’s opponent will be until all of the quarterfinal games are over.
BUT Team Canada is playing some of their best hockey right now and I feel pretty good about how they’re playing heading into the next stage of the tournament.
Who will we face? We don’t know. But I do know it’ll be entertaining. Tune in to the semis! Monday at 8:10am ET on CBC Sports and CBC Gem!
Must-see Event 📺 Ice Dance - Free Dance
The likes of Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir – ABSOLUTE LEGENDS – helped ignite a new generation of Canadian audiences in the world of figure skating, and now that audience has a SUPER FUN weekend ahead! Before we can get to the medal event, the rhythm dance competition is set to take place Saturday and Canada has three duos representing: Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier (currently ranked fourth in the world), Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Nikolaj Soerensen (10th), and Zachary Lagha and Marjorie Lajoie (17th).
But, I must admit… You know what I am excited about most of all? Virtue and Moir will be analysts on the CBC broadcast for the ice dance competition!!! 🙌 🎉 How cool is that!!??!!
The Canadians will compete against some hungry Team U.S.A. pairs. Earlier in the Games, Madison Chock and Evan Bates headlined U.S.A's team performance. Both dancers skated in the ice dance free dance for a winning score of 129.07 and it was this win that gave the U.S. 10 additional points, ultimately securing their silver win. Making their Beijing debut in the individual event will be Kaitlin Hawayek and Jean-Luc Baker. These two four-peated for third place at the 2022 U.S. Figure Skating Championships.
It’s finally time to see what these incredible athletes have been working on all season long! Coverage begins Saturday at 6am ET for the Rhythm Dance competition and cap off the weekend with the Free Dance medal event Sunday at 8:15pm ET on CBC Sports and CBC Gem.
🍁 Canada Watch 👀
I love FIRSTS! They’re just extra special and exciting. Canada won another first yesterday in the mixed team aerials competition, grabbing its first-ever bronze medal in the event. The three aerialists, Marion Thenault, Miha Fontaine and Lewis Irving, pulled off the stunning third place finish, each jumping once. Team Canada scored 290.98 points, trailing gold-medalists Team U.S.A. (338.34) and China was not too far behind (324.22).
But the moment I was BEYOND excited about was our FIRST women’s silver of the Games!!! ICYMI, it came from the powerful Isabelle Weidemann. 🙌 Like I said, I like firsts, and Weidemann was not only our first woman to grab silver, she was ALSO our first Canadian to reach the podium at Beijing 2022. The Ottawa native speed skater finished the women's 5000-metre in six minutes, 48.18 seconds. Annnnnndd GET THIS - she was 1.37 seconds shy of her national record!!! The 26-year-old was seventh in the 5,000-metre and sixth in the 3,000-metre at Pyeongchang 2018. And right now, this moment isn’t getting old anytime soon:
MEDAL COUNT TOTALS || Women: 4 | Men: 6 | Mixed Team: 2
🥉 BRONZE - Count: 5
Isabelle Weidemann (Speed Skating - Women's 3000-metre)
Kim Boutin (Short Track Speed Skating - Women’s 500-metre)
Team Canada (Ski Jumping - Mixed Team)
Meryeta O’Dine (Snowboard Cross)
Team Canada (Aerials - Mixed Team)
🥈 SILVER - Count: 1
Isabelle Weidemann (Speed Skating - Women's 5000-metre)
🥇 GOLD - Count: Can Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier bring home the gold? 🤩
TV Guide
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