Canada gets on board

WEST VANCOUVER, British Columbia – Instead of talking about oh-fers, Canada can start the real Olympic celebration.

The host country is on the board with its first gold medal, thanks to the upset pulled off by Alexandre Bilodeau, who won the men’s moguls Sunday night to finally become the first Canadian to win an Olympic title inside his own country’s borders.

Skis skidding across the slippery slush, head moving in rhythm with the bumps, Bilodeau showed all the speed, daring and borderline recklessness a skier must show to make history.

He tore down the course in 23.17 seconds and posted a score of 26.75. That was .17 points better than defending champion Dale Begg-Smith, a Vancouver native who now competes for Australia.

“I don’t think I realize what’s actually going on today and what’s happening to me right now,” Bilodeau said.

Bryon Wilson of the United States finished third. Bilodeau nailed his winning run after Wilson. When the next and final skier, Guilbaut Colas of France, finished and had his sixth-place score flashed on the board, the Canadian crowd went crazy.

It has been nearly 34 years since the cauldron was first lit for the Summer Games in Montreal, and 22 since the last Canadian games in Calgary.

Now, the games are in Vancouver. And the land of the Maple Leaf has its moment.

The victory came about 24 hours later than many people thought it might – on the very same moguls course where favorite Jenn Heil, a Canadian who trains daily with Bilodeau, settled for silver. That disappointment is history, and suddenly, Canada looks like the threat it hoped it would be at these Olympics.

“It’s so big for Canada,” said Bilodeau’s coach, Dominick Gauthier. “Since the beginning and for Jenn yesterday, these games are all about Canada. Now the first gold is won. The media won’t talk about it anymore. It’s done.”

Patrick Deneen of Cle Elum fell during his final run and did not finish.