Cassie Sharpe, Rachael Karker give Canada two more medals in the halfpipe

Opinion

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This article was published 17/02/2022 (1300 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

BEIJING In their moment of Olympic medal thrill, they remembered Sarah Burke.

The young woman who lived — and died — as a freeski pioneer, putting her sport on the map in Canada and , really, to the world. That is her legacy.

Cassie Sharpe and Rachael Karker, two-thirds of the podium trio with silver and bronze on Friday in the freeski halfpipe, recalled Burke with fondness and respect, making the ski cross trailblazer part of their celebration.

“Every day we walk into the wax cabin, we’ve got the Canadian flag on the door with Sarah’s name across it,” said Sharpe, after collecting a silver to go with her gold from Pyeongchang. “She’s here with us. She’s pretty much the reason we do compete in this sport at the Olympics. She was a massive push and pioneer for that.’’

Added Karker: “Sarah, we’re both from Ontario. I remember her just being such a huge inspiration to a lot of young Canadians, men and women, and she really advocated for our sport. She is such a big reason that we can do what we do. And I just hope that she would be really proud to see two Canadians on the podium today.’’

Sharpe: “Oh yeah, she would.”

Burke died after a training accident in 2012, only 29 years old. Her coach, Trennon Paynter, now coaches Sharpe and Karker. The circle is unbroken.

Silver and bronze: Put that in your halfpipe and smoke it.

Eileen Gu, the Chinese girl from California, was predictably untouchable, of course, collecting her second gold and third medal of the Games.

“After seeing Eileen go, I knew it would take a lot to beat her,” Sharpe told a press conference. “She’s been on fire all year.”

So, no, not a whiff of disappointment.

“I’m extremely proud of myself, proud of Rachael, being on the podium together is pretty cool.’’

In the U.S., right-wing commentators and social media trolls are flaying Gu for choosing to represent China, which she’s explained was a gesture of love for her Shanghai-born single mom and sees no reason to further defend her choice. She’s the superstar of the Games, the face of the Games, whatever her provenance and passport, headed now for Stanford University.

“Winning at the Olympics and getting into Stanford have been two of my biggest dreams in my life,” she said.

But talent only accounted for a “tiny portion” of her triumphs in Beijing. “I would say more than 99 per cent is attributed to my hard work.’’

Which can be said for all of them. Their day-to-day labours — unseen by TV cameras, unheralded — have brought them here.

In thrall to a sport of immense risk to life and limb, as evidenced by some spectacular crashes on the men’s side in qualifying on Thursday.

Sharpe knows intimately how much her sport can hurt. Sharpe, the defending Olympic champion, shredded knee ligaments and broke her femur a year ago, only returning to the competitive circuit in late 2021.

“I’ve been to hell and back the last year, so I’m just grateful that all the pieces that I’ve worked so hard on came together today.”

In her journal, on Thursday evening, the 29-year-old from Vancouver Island had written a reminder to herself to take pride, whatever ensued come the morning.

“Coming to these Games after being out for nine months, I knew that it was going to take a lot to even just be on the podium. So this feels incredibly special.’’

Sharpe was in woo-woo ecstasy after her first run, clearly loath to make her dethroning easy for anybody, even Gu, and laying down a score of 89, interim leader.

Right 900 and left 900 on the top, switch 360, signature 1080 at the bottom, with a tail grab back to switch. Tons of amplitude, technical exactitude and flair — all the things judges want to see in a progression of the sport.

“Oh my God! What a rush!” she shrieked.

This was the Sharpe of close to 2018 eminence. Flinging down the gauntlet for Gu with a fat score buoyed her confidence.

“It kind of solidifies you and makes you feel comfortable to push yourself and try harder tricks and keep pushing your runs,” she said. “The pressure is always on that first run and it kind of sets the tone with how the day is going.”

Forget the sport’s jargon, just admire the guts and the grandiosity of the skill, the height achieved on the tricks, the voguing in the air, the assured landings. And always, the risks.

On her first run, Karker — the 24-year-old from Erin, Ont. who hasn’t missed a World Cup podium since 2019 — clicked the deck on her opening trick but corrected, concluding with a switch 540, taking off backward, reaching down for a tail grab. That earned a score of 87.75, which put her into second behind Sharpe.

But Gu … 93.25

Second run for Sharpe, chasing Gu, the 2021 world champion: zigging and zagging on the walls, spinning and vaulting, clearly going for it, a four-metre-high trick at the bottom, locking in the grab.

“Let’s GOOOOO!”

Counted out by so many, was Sharpe. Expected to win in Pyeongchang, expected to lose in Beijing. Scored 90.

Second run for Karker, flawless at the top, an inverted flare, back-to-back 900, switch 540 at the bottom. Scored 82.25. Only needed two of three runs to count.

But Gu … 95.25

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In the third run on a breezy, bright blue morning — one more factor to deal with at Genting Snow Park — Sharpe pulled out all the tricks, clean rotations on back-to-backs, upside-down on the axis, but an awkward landing. Still scored 90.75.

Karker, the only woman left who could challenge Gu for gold, went as big as she could at the top with back-to-back 900s, but couldn’t get a 1080 on the bottom, instead repeating a trick from the top and judges don’t like that: 38.00.

Gold in her pocket, Gu delighted spectators with a styin’ lap of honour just for fun.

“I’ve never taken a victory lap before in my entire life. So I felt like, you know what, last event of the Olympics, it feel like I finally deserve it.”

Rosie DiManno is a Toronto-based columnist covering sports and current affairs for the Star. Follow her on Twitter: @rdimanno