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BEIJING — PARR-O CANADA

Max Parrot was so confident with his second run in the men’s snowboard slopestyle final — and his more than two-point advantage — that he leisurely glided down the slope and performed jumps with minimal effort for this third and final run. The confidence could have easily proved costly. It didn’t. Parrot’s 90.96 score was enough to beat out China’s Su Yiming to claim top spot on the podium — Canada’s first gold medal in Beijing. The snowboarder from Bromont, Que., also beat out Regina’s Mark McMorris, who took slopestyle bronze for a third straight Olympics. McMorris had the best score of the third run at 88.53 points. He celebrated by launching his snowboard high in the air. 

MILLIMETRE MARGIN (alternate title: GOING HOME-AN EARLY)

Two measures were needed to confirm that Canada’s mixed doubles curling team was leaving Beijing early. John Morris and Rachel Homan failed to reach the playoffs after an 8-7 loss in the do-or-die round-robin finale against Italy. The match went to an extra end and needed a measurement when Canada’s final stone was a whisker outside the Italian rock. Morris shook hands with the Italians before the measurement was complete. "With one half a break or one millimetre here or there and we're playing in that semifinal," Morris said. The Canadians were the defending gold medallists in mixed doubles curling. 

BEHIND THE MASK

It was clear something was not quite right after Canada left the ice following the pre-game warm-up. The Canadian women’s hockey team was sitting in its dressing room while the Russians sat on the bench and skated in circles around the ice. There was no explanation for the delay, though it was believed to be related to COVID-19 safety. The Russians eventually returned to their dressing room. More than an hour after the scheduled puck drop, both teams emerged wearing masks under their helmets. The Russians and officials removed their masks in the third period while the Canadians kept theirs on. Canada went on to win 6-1. The Russian women's hockey team isolated in the Olympic Village from Jan. 31 to Feb. 2 because of a coronavirus outbreak.

LEAVING IT ALL ON THE SLOPE

Jack Crawford says he couldn't have performed much better than he did in the men's downhill. It was almost enough to get him a medal. Going 12th in the start order, the Toronto native flew down the course known as "The Rock" in a time of one minute 42.92 seconds, which was good for second place after his run. Only two of the skiers that followed were faster, but that was enough to bump Crawford off the podium. He finished 0.07 seconds behind bronze medallist Matthias Mayer of Austria.

JUMPING FOR JOY

The Canadian mixed ski jumping team surprised everyone, including themselves, with a bronze-medal performance on Monday. It was Canada's first-ever medal in any ski jumping discipline. The Canadian team of Alex Loutitt, Abigail Strate, Mackenzie Boyd-Clowes and Matthew Soukup left Calgary, Alberta, to train in Europe because the hills used for the Calgary Olympics in 1988 were shuttered. Slovenia won the gold medal in dominating style while Russia claimed silver. The mixed team event was making its Olympic debut at the Beijing Games. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 7, 2022.

The Canadian Press