Canada's Anderson wins snowboarding gold
Last Updated: Saturday, February 27, 2010 | 9:30 PM ET
By Dan Robson, CBC Sports
There was only one thing left for Jasey-Jay Anderson to do.
The 34-year-old from Mont-Tremblant, Que., is the most celebrated snowboarder in Canadian history. However, in four appearances at the Winter Games, he had never won an Olympic medal.
After battling hard all day, Austria's Benjamin Karl narrowly edged Anderson out in the first of two runs in the men's parallel giant slalom snowboarding final at the Vancouver Olympics on Saturday.
The stage was set.
Anderson had to battle the dense fog, chilling rain and an almost 8-10ths of a second disadvantage to find his moment in Olympic history.
He had already secured his first Olympic medal by making to the final. Only one question remained — would it be gold, or silver?
His daughters — Jy, 3, and Jora, 4 — waved the answer with their little arms, holding a sign that read: "Go, Daddy, Gold!"
Crossing the finish line, Anderson threw his arms high in the air. Finally, after 20 years and four Olympics, he had done it. Anderson was Olympic champion.
"Shocked," he told CTV after, fighting back tears, the word capturing the moment perfectly.
"I'm mean, I had so much to make up in these conditions, it's virtually impossible."
Battles bad weather
Karl, the 24-year-old silver medallist, was exceptional through the terrible weather conditions in his first Olympic appearance. He seemed poised to take the gold after winning the first heat of the final against Anderson.
But Cypress Mountain has been, for the most part, kind to Canada at the Vancouver Olympics. And on Saturday, it smiled on Anderson.
France's Mathieu Bozzetto claimed the bronze medal.
'I tried to be a true athlete. There's no better feeling.'—Jasey-Jay Anderson, gold medallist, parallel giant slalom snowboarding
Matthew Morison, of Burketon, Ont., finished in 11th spot , while Toronto's Michael Lambert was in 12th position. Neither Canadian rider could get past the qualifiers for the quarter-final.
Anderson came to the Vancouver Olympics as the current world champion, but at 34 years old, on the edge of retirement, the storybook ending was never a guarantee.
After a 20-year snowboarding career, Anderson has hinted he will likely soon retire to his Quebec farm, where he grows blueberries with his wife, Manon Morin.
Anderson is ranked third in World Cup standings, and is a four-time world champion. He has stood on the World Cup podium 59 times.
In almost every possible way in his sport, Anderson was a champion. But entering the Vancouver Games, he faced the incredible pressure of having one last chance to win that elusive Olympic medal.
Anderson had to slip past Tyler Jewell of the United States, Rok Flanders of Slovenia and Stanislav Detkov of Russia to reach the finals against Karl.
Then with nothing but the race of his life ahead of him, Anderson rose to the occasion and spun the moment into gold.
"I just thought a true athlete thrives on adversity," he said. "So, I tried to be a true athlete.
"There's no better feeling."
