Team Canada enjoyed its most successful day so far at the Beijing Winter Olympics with a four-medal haul on Thursday.
Snowboarder Eliot Grondin and speedskater Isabelle Weidemann each collected silver medals, while alpine skier Jack Crawford and Canada鈥檚 mixed aerials team each nabbed bronze.
Canada, with 12 total medals, now sits tied with Norway for second on the Olympic medal table. Austria leads with 13.
Grondin had not been challenged all day.
The Canadian cruised through every race on his way to the men鈥檚 snowboard cross final in Zhangjiakou at the Beijing Olympics, where he fought hard for a silver medal that was a photo finish away from being gold.
Grondin of Ste-Marie, Que., crossed the finish line 0.02 seconds behind Austria鈥檚 Alessandro H盲mmerle for Canada鈥檚 second medal Thursday.
Just a few minutes earlier 鈥� and a few hundred kilometres away in the Yanqing zone 鈥� Jack Crawford held on tight for third place in the alpine combined.
The 20-year-old Grondin led every race heading into the big final. Then it was his turn to play catch-up. He stuck close to H盲mmerle from start to finish, never letting the Austrian break away.
It stayed that way until Grondin plunged to the finish line for the nail-biting finish. After a few tense moments, the Canadian鈥檚 silver medal was confirmed.
鈥淚 kind of knew I was going to be silver, but I tried everything I had,鈥� he said.
鈥淛ust to share the podium with Alessandro is amazing.鈥�
It was Canada鈥檚 fourth medal in snowboarding at Beijing and second in as many days after Meryeta O鈥橠ine captured bronze in the women鈥檚 snowboard cross on Wednesday.
On the slopes, Crawford finished third with a total time of two minutes 32.11 seconds for Canada鈥檚 first-ever medal in alpine combined.
The Toronto native entered the slalom portion of the event in second place after going 1:43.14 in the downhill. He then did a 48.97 in the slalom.
Johannes Strolz of Austria won gold (2:31.43) while Aleksander Aamodt Kilde of Norway took home the silver (2:32.02).
The 24-year-old Crawford came close to a medal on two previous occasions in Beijing. He was sixth in the men鈥檚 super-G on Tuesday and fourth in the men鈥檚 downhill event on Monday, finishing seven-hundredths of a second behind the bronze medallist.
Crawford says recent changes to his skiing style and overall approach have given him more of a winner鈥檚 mindset.
鈥淚鈥檝e taken on this new mentality of 鈥榟ow do I put myself in a position to win every single race,鈥欌�� he said. 鈥淎nd even if you鈥檙e not winning, even if you鈥檙e not coming in the top 10, if you have that mentality and you have that ability to push and put yourself in the position where you could win, it鈥檚 probably going to be a good day regardless of where you end up.
Canada鈥檚 mixed aerials team picked up Canada鈥檚 third medal of the day 鈥� and second bronze 鈥� at the Zhangjiakou Genting Snow Park.
The United States claimed gold with 338.34 points while China settled for silver with 324.22.
The Canadian trio of Marion Thenault of Sherbrooke, Que.; Miha Fontaine of Lac-Beauport, Que.; and Quebec City鈥檚 Lewis Irving finished the final with a total of 290.98 points to edge out fourth-place Switzerland, which totalled 276.01 points.
Irving, who took the team鈥檚 third and final jump, gave credit to his teammates for even having the Canadians in a position to win a medal.
鈥淭hey did great,鈥� said Irving. 鈥淢iha, I watched him go and put it down. So it was up to me and it鈥檚 just amazing to be able to support a team like that and get it done.鈥�
Flavie Aumond and 脡mile Nadeau also competed for Canada in the qualifying rounds of the freestyle skiing event, which was making its Olympic debut at the Zhangjiakou Genting Snow Park.
It is Canada鈥檚 first aerials medal since the 2002 Salt Lake Games, when Veronica Brenner won silver and Deidra Dionne claimed bronze in the women鈥檚 event.
Meanwhile, Weidemann won silver in the women鈥檚 5,000 metres.
The 26-year-old from Ottawa collected her second medal in Beijing after a bronze in the 3,000 metres.
The Canadian posted a time of six minutes 48.18 seconds skating in the penultimate pairing.
Dutchwoman Irene Schouten then beat Weidemann鈥檚 time for gold in an Olympic-record 6:43.51.
鈥淚 really emptied the tank today. I gave all my energy. So I looked up (but) I couldn鈥檛 really see the time. I haven鈥檛 skated that deep into the hole in a while. And I was just trying to stay on my feet,鈥� Weidemann said of her effort.
On the ice, Ben Street had a goal and an assist as Canada鈥檚 Olympic men鈥檚 hockey team stormed out of the gate early before cruising to a 5-1 victory over Germany on Thursday at the Beijing Games.
Alex Grant, Daniel Winnik, Maxim Noreau and Jordan Weal also scored for Canada while goaltender Edward Pasquale made 23 saves.
Canadian skip Jennifer Jones opened the women鈥檚 curling round-robin schedule Thursday night with a 12-7 victory over South Korea鈥檚 EunJung Kim at the Ice Cube.
Jones iced the win with a steal of two in the 10th end.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 typical Team Jones fashion I think,鈥� said vice Kaitlyn Lawes. 鈥淯sually we bring it down to the wire, so what a way to start the Olympics.鈥�
On the men鈥檚 side, Canada鈥檚 Brad Gushue improved to 2-0 by downing Norway鈥檚 Steffen Walstad 6-5 in men鈥檚 round-robin play.
At the Capital Indoor Stadium, Canada鈥檚 Keegan Messing, who arrived a week late to the Games after a positive COVID-19 test, finished 11th in men鈥檚 singles figure skating amid perhaps the finest Olympic field ever assembled.
Messing鈥檚 Olympic story wasn鈥檛 what he鈥檇 hoped to write. He missed the team event entirely. And in his free program, he downgraded one of his two quadruple jumps to a triple, a costly mistake in a field full of big jumpers that he wishes he could have back.
Still, competing in Beijing at all felt like a victory.
鈥淚鈥檓 just happy to be here. I鈥檝e got the biggest smile on my face,鈥� Messing said through his face mask. 鈥淎nd I feel full. It鈥檚 everything. This is the Olympic dream, I never thought I was going to come twice. And here I am.鈥�
Meanwhile, the drama continued off the ice in figure skating.
Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva practised as usual Thursday morning despite reports the 15-year-old had tested positive for a banned heart medication.
If that leads to a disqualification for the gold medal-winning Russians in the team event, fourth-place Canada could be in line to win bronze.
Earlier, Elizabeth Hosking from Longueuil, Que., placed sixth in women鈥檚 snowboard halfpipe, improving 13 spots from the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics. She said getting significantly closer to the podium has just added fuel to her fire.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a big achievement going to the Olympics, but I guess I鈥檓 just a person that is never settled,鈥� said Hosking.
鈥淵ou know, that鈥檚 what fires me. I just want better for myself and better for my competitive career.鈥�
American Chloe Kim successfully defended her Olympic title, throwing down a 94.00 in her first run to win gold. Spain鈥檚 Queralt Castellet (90.25) took home the silver and Japan鈥檚 Tomita Sena (88.25) finished with bronze.
鈥擳he Canadian Press
