Bilodeau, Heil donate $25K each to charity

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This article was published 25/02/2010 (5736 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

VANCOUVER — Olympic freestyle skiing champion Alexandre Bilodeau calls older brother Frederic his source of inspiration. Now, Bilodeau is doing his part to return the favour.

The gold medallist in moguls announced Wednesday he’s donating $25,000 to the Canadian Association of Paediatric Health Centres in support of research into cerebral palsy.

For Bilodeau, the donation is a very personal one. Frederic was born with cerebral palsy and doctors said he would be in a wheelchair for life. But Frederic has proved them wrong, still walking and skiing at age 28. He was one of the first to greet Alexandre after he won gold.

Bilodeau’s moguls teammate Jennifer Heil, who won silver in the women’s event at the Vancouver Winter Games, is also doing her part to give back, donating $25,000 to Because I Am A Girl. The foundation helps girls in underprivileged countries.

The 22-year-old Bilodeau, who captured Canada’s first-ever gold medal on home soil Feb. 14, said growing up with Frederic taught him a lot about keeping things in perspective.

Vonn crashes out

WHISTLER, B.C. — Lindsey Vonn crashed out of the first run of the Olympic giant slalom race Wednesday and injured her right pinkie.

The American lost control around a right turn in the middle section of the course, got twisted around, landed hard on her left hip and crashed backward into the safety netting.

“The course is breaking up at the bottom,” Vonn said, holding ice on her pinkie. “I got a little bit too inside and lost my outside ski. My knee came up and hit my chin.”

After being checked course-side for a few minutes, Vonn got up and skied down to the finish.

She said she was going for an X-ray on her right hand, after which she’ll know if she will race Friday’s slalom, her final event of the games.

“I hope my finger is OK so I can compete Friday,” Vonn said. “I was like a pretzel, so tangled up.”

She was just getting over a bruised right shin, having opened her Olympics with gold in downhill and bronze in super-G. While giant slalom is usually Vonn’s worst event, she had posted the fastest split times until her crash.

Making Oly history

WHISTLER, B.C. — The first Iranian woman to compete at a Winter Olympics has completed the first run of the alpine giant slalom event.

Marjan Kalhor finished in one minute 36.87 seconds on Wednesday, the slowest of the 68 starters who completed the fogbound, snowy course. She trailed leader Elisabeth Goergl of Austria by 21.75 seconds heading into the second run in the afternoon.

The 21-year-old Kalhor wore a normal racing suit and fuschia pink head scarf beneath her safety helmet to comply with the Islamic dress code.

She flashed big smiles, revealing sets of braces, and thanked reporters for their attention as she spoke through a translator at the finish.

Kalhor said: “If you want to be a sportswoman, you have to participate in the biggest competitions.”

— From the news services