Anderson leads men’s snowboard team in Vancouver

Defending world champion Jasey-Jay Anderson is looking for his first Olympic medal in the parallel giant slalom before retiring.

The 34-year-old from Mont-Tremblant, Que., is a two-time World Cup champion in the event.

Anderson leads 10 riders nominated to Canada’s men’s Olympic snowboard team.

Also competing in the parallel giant slalom will be Michael Lambert and Matthew Morison, both from Ontario.

Lambert is entering the Olympics in the midst of his best season. He won his first career World Cup medals during 2009-2010, a gold and silver.

Morison, 21, is coming off an injury, having fractured his left elbow shortly after winning a World Cup gold medal in December.

Although Morison was unable to finish the season, he expects to be fully recovered in time for the Games.

In parallel giant slalom, two snowboarders compete head-to-head. The fastest boarder to go down the course, while turning through a series of gates, moves on to the next round.

This event was introduced to the Olympic Winter Games in 1998.

Hitting the halfpipe for Canada will be Jeff Batchelor, Justin Lamoureux and Brad Martin.

Competing in his first-ever Olympic Games, Batchelor, 21, won silver at the snowboard World Championships in South Korea in January.

Lamoureux, 34, is a Canadian veteran on the halfpipe, who recently won a silver World Cup medal in Calgary.

Martin, who has only been competing since 2002, came 16th at the Turin Olympics. In 2007 he won bronze at the World Championship, and also has five World Cup medals, including gold in 2008.

The 22-year-old is a three-time defending national champion.

The halfpipe is half-cylinder-shaped snow ramp that snowboarders, one at a time, perform a routine of jumps, twists and tricks on, while moving from one side to the other.

They are judged on variety, difficulty, height and execution of manoeuvres, cleanness of landings, and technical merit.

Finally, battling it out in snowboard cross will be François Boivin, Rob Fagan, Drew Neilson, and Mike Robertson.

Boivin finished 10th at the Turin Games in 2006, is a World Championship silver medallist and holds three World Cup medals. At the national championship, he is a triple bronze medallist.

Fagan, who is 33, injured his knee in 2006 and was unable to compete in Turin. Last season, he finished 19th at the World Championships.

In snowboard cross, four boarders race each other down a course of varying terrain and obstacles. The fastest two racers from each heat move on to the next round.

The event made its Olympic debut at the 2006 Games.

About this article

By: By Melissa Boufounos
Posted: Feb 9 2010 12:57 pm
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Filed under: Winter Games
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