Beijing 2022 Olympics Day 8 recap: Canada win snowboard cross bronze as Games hit halfway point
Eight days down, eight days to go.
Canada added bronze medal in snowboard cross on day eight of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, while one of their best medal hopes just missed out on the podium in long track speed skating.
Meryeta O’Dine, who won bronze in women’s snowboard cross, and Eliot Grondin, who won silver in the men’s event, teamed up on day eight in the first ever mixed team competition. After a strong run from Grondin in the opening run of the final, O’Dine was tasked with securing a medal for Canada. In the middle of her run, an Italian competitor landed on top of her, but she recovered well to get herself back up quickly and cross the line in third place.
Liam Moffatt and Tess Critchlow also competed for Canada but exited at the quarterfinal stage.
With the medal, Canada are now up to 13 at Beijing 2022, halfway through the Games. Monobob, ice hockey and other events are still to come in the second half of the programme, which Canada are expected to be gold medal contenders in.
One of Canada’s best medal hopes coming into Beijing 2022 seemed to be long track speed skater Laurent Dubreuil in the men’s 500m event. Dubreuil is the reigning world champion in the event, and picked up a medal in all eight World Cup events this season. In the 500m event on day eight, he had a false start the first time he lined up for his heat, and when the race began successfully, he didn’t get off to the start he would have wanted. He ended up a heartbreaking 0.03 seconds off the podium, and just 0.20 seconds behind the winner, Tingyu Gao of China. Gilmore Junio and Antoine Gélinas-Beaulieu also competed for Canada, finishing 21st and 29th overall, respectively.
Also on the long track, Canada won their women’s team pursuit quarterfinal, advancing to a semifinal matchup with the Netherlands.
Switching to a different kind of skating, the figure skating ice dance competition got underway on day eight, with three Canadian pairs taking part. The top Canadian pair were the colourful (literally, see image below) duo of Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier, who earned a score of 83.52 and sit in sixth, 3.61 points back of third. Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Nikolaj Soerensen (78.54) are Canada’s second-highest pair in eighth place, and Marjorie Lajoie and Zachary Lagha are in 13th (72.59).
After setting the track record in the women’s skeleton on her first run, Canada’s Mirela Rahneva dropped down to ninth after two runs. On day eight runs three and four took place, and Rahneva was able to climb back up to fifth, but a spot on the podium eluded her in her second Olympic Games. Jane Channell, also competing in her second Winter Olympics, finished in 17th.
In biathlon, the men’s 10km individual sprint event took place, featuring the Gow brothers, Jules Burnotte and Adam Runnalls. Christian Gow set a personal Olympic best by finishing in 12th. Burnotte finished in 29th place, followed by Scott Gow (34th) and Runnalls (35th).
Canada also recorded their best result in a women’s cross-country relay event in 20 years, finishing ninth in the women’s 4x5km relay. Katherine Stewart-Jones, Dahria Beatty, Cendrine Browne, and Olivia Bouffard-Nesbitt made up Canada’s team.
In ski jumping, Mackenzie Boyd-Clowes and Matthew Soukup took part in the first round of the men’s individual large hill event. Boyd-Clowes finished 33rd and Soukup finished 49th, both outside the required top-30 finish needed to move on.
A day after Canada’s women’s hockey team demolished Sweden in their playoff matchup, revenge was had on the curling rink. Jennifer Jones and the Canadian women’s team lost 7-6. As was the case in mixed curling earlier in the week for Canada, the measurement tool came out to decide the winner in the final end, and again Canada were on the wrong side of the result. In the men’s game, Brad Gushue’s men fell to Niklas Edin and his strong Swedish team, losing 7-4.
In their men’s hockey round robin on day eight, Canada squared off against their bitter rivals from the United States. An early goal from Mat Robinson gave Canada the lead, but Andy Miele scored to tie things up shortly after, the first of three unanswered goals for the Americans. After Corban Knight brought Canada back within one, Kenny Agostino sealed a 4-2 victory with a goal in the third period.
What’s happening on day 9?
Canada will take to the ice for the women’s 3000m relay final in short track speed skating on day nine, looking to improve on their 8th-place result from Pyeongchang 2018. Canada made the final, but finished 8th after being penalized in the medal race. Canada’s team of Courtney Sarault, Florence Brunelle, Kim Boutin, and Alyson Charles won their semifinal and will up against the Netherlands, China and South Korea.
Steven Dubois and Jordan Pierre Gilles will also be racing in the same quarterfinal of the men’s short track 500m. The top two (and two fastest third place teams) advance to the semifinals, and then the same to reach the final. Dubois won a medal in the men’s 1500m earlier in the Games.
In long track, Marsha Hudey, Heather McLean, and Brooklyn McDougall will all race for Canada in the women’s 500m event.
There are two biathlon events on the schedule, the women’s 10km pursuit and the men’s 12.5km pursuit. Emma Lunder will represent Canada in the women’s event, and four Canadian men will take part in the 12.5km — Christian Gow, Scott Gow, Jules Burnotte, and Adam Runnalls.
In cross-country, Graham Ritchie, Antoine Cyr, Olivier Léveillé, and Rémi Drolet will make up Canada’s team for the men’s 4x10km relay.
On the slopes, Erik Read and Trevor Philp will race in the men’s giant slalom.
Canadian athletes competing in non-medal events on day 9:
Cynthia Appiah and Christine de Bruin, two medal favourites, will race for Canada in the Olympic debut of women’s monobob. The first two heats take place on day nine. Appiah finished third overall in the World Cup circuit, and de Bruin finished fourth. Kaillie Humphries — who competed for Canada at three Olympics — finished second overall, and will be making her Olympic debut in her new colours in the single-person bobsleigh event.
After impressing in the women’s ski big air competition, finishing fourth and eighth respectively, Megan Oldham and Olivia Asselin are shifting gears to take part in slopestyle. The qualification runs take place on day nine, with the top 12 skiers moving onto the final.
Canada will compete in the quarterfinals of the men’s team pursuit in long track speed skating. The three-person team will be picked from a group of Jordan Belchos, Ted-Jan Bloemen, Connor Howe and Tyson Langelaar. The four fastest teams move onto the semifinals.
The men’s hockey team will play their final preliminary round game against China.
Marion Thénault, who was part of Canada’s mixed aerials team that won a bronze medal a few days ago, will compete in the qualification of the women’s individual competition alongside Flavie Aumond and Naomy Boudreau-Guertin. The top six qualifiers move onto the final, with the rest of the field doing a second jump to find another six to move onto the 12-person final.
Both curling teams are in action again, looking to bounce back from losses to Sweden. The men’s team plays the defending Olympic champions from the United States, looking to improve their 2-2 record, while the women’s team (1-2) are up against Switzerland, the reigning world champions.
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