Whistler skier Ashleigh McIvor stepped up to win Olympic gold on home snow — scoring first place for Canada Tuesday in women’s Ski Cross.
“Who could go out and represent Canada better than a Whistler girl?” the skier asked after the race, adding, “I’ve been shredding pow, dropping cliffs and chasing the boys my whole life, and that’s what Ski Cross is all about.”
McIvor, who dominated nearly every heat she skied during preliminary rounds at Cypress Mountain, says she felt confident she would win. “This morning people were saying to me: ‘Ashleigh I think this will be your day,’ and they were right,” she said. “I was made for it.”
In the final round, McIvor was chased hard by an impressive field of skiers, including Hedda Bernsten of Norway (Silver) and France’s Marion Josserand. But the gold belonged to McIvor, a favourite heading into the race, who pushed hard at each start, stayed low and balanced through her jumps, and managed to stay ahead of the spectacular crashes that are all part the sport of Ski Cross.
“Ski Cross is such an amazing spectator sport,” summed up McIvor.
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