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Canada poised for medal boost from new Olympic events

Matt Lundy

Canada could get a big medal boost in Sochi with the addition of 12 new events in eight disciplines. Since 1992, Canada has won 18 medals in debut medal events, including four golds. Prospects look bright again for the upcoming Winter Games. Here’s a look at the new events, along with Canada’s top medal hopefuls in each of them.

Team figure skating

Ten nations will compete in team figure skating, a new event that started Thursday. (You can read more on the format of the event here.) Canada has a deep squad that’s capable of reaching the podium. Three-time world champion Patrick Chan, defending gold medalists Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, and emerging star Kaetlyn Osmond could all play an integral role on the Canadian team.

Luge team relay

Canada has yet to win an Olympic medal in luge. That could change with the addition of the team relay, an exciting new twist on the sport. Each team will be comprised of a male luger, a female luger and a doubles team. The female slider goes first. When she crosses the finish line, she must hit a touchpad suspended above the track. Doing so releases the gate for the male competitor. Once he finishes and touches the pad, the pairs team starts the final leg. The fastest time wins.

The Canadian team is led by Alex Gough, the first Canadian luge athlete to win a World Cup event. She and her relay teammates won silver at last year’s world championships.

Ski halfpipe

The debut of halfpipe skiing will be a bittersweet affair. Sarah Burke, a Canadian freestyle skier, lobbied for the sport’s inclusion in the Olympics, but died in 2012 after suffering a severe head injury in training. Burke would likely have been a medal favourite in Sochi. Her father recently draped a silver medal on Canada’s Rosalind Groenewoud at the most recent X Games in Aspen. Groenewoud, a two-time X Games champion and FIS world champion, has dedicated past victories to Burke’s memory.

On the men’s side, the four-person team is led by Justin Dorey and Mike Riddle. Dorey recently won the FIS Crystal Globe for finishing atop the World Cup standings. Riddle won gold at the 2011 FIS World Championships, and finished the most recent World Cup season in third position overall.

Biathlon mixed relay

The mixed relay debuted at the Biathlon World Championships in 2005. Each team has two men and two women. Both women complete 6-kilometre legs; the men each ski a 7.5-kilometre leg. Both men and women complete two rounds of shooting, the first from prone position and the second from standing position.

Norway has dominated the event the past three years, led by Tora Berger and Emil Hegle Svendsen, both gold medalists in Vancouver. The Czech Republic won the opening relay of the 2013 World Cup season, while Canada sits in 11th after one race.

Snowboard slopestyle

The Canadian slopestyle snowboarding team is stacked with talent. Mark McMorris, a reality TV star and X Games champion, was the gold-medal favourite heading into Sochi – that is, until he recently fractured a rib. Fortunately, McMorris will still be competing. His compatriot Max Parrot won a double gold at the most recent X Games, while Sébastien Toutant has two X Games golds of his own. On the women’s side, Spencer O’Brien took gold at last year’s world championships and is a four-time X Games medalist.

The slopestyle snowboarders compete on a 655-metre course with rails and jumps, performing technical and big-air tricks for the judges. The competitors are judged on the overall impression of tricks, including: variety, execution, amplitude, difficulty and landing.

Ski slopestyle

Slopestyle skiers will compete on a 565-metre course, performing tricks on rails and jumps. The competitors are judged on variety of tricks, execution, amplitude, difficulty and landing.

Canada’s female team is particularly strong, led by Kaya Turski and Dara Howell. Turski recently won at the X Games in Aspen, her fourth gold medal at the event. Howell currently sits in second position in the overall World Cup rankings.

Women’s ski jumping

After a lengthy wait and a failed legal battle, women’s ski jumping is finally an Olympic sport. The Canadian women are considered a long shot to make the podium. Twenty-two-year-old Atsuko Tanaka of Calgary is considered Canada’s best hope. Her top result this season was a fourth-place finish at a World Cup event in Sapporo, Japan. Rounding out the team is 18-year-old Taylor Henrich. The top female ski jumper on the World Cup circuit is Japan’s Sara Takanashi.

Snowboard parallel slalom

Snowboard parallel slalom will make its debut in Sochi. Previously, alpine snowboarders only competed in parallel giant slalom, an event that involves head-to-head racing. The athletes will still compete in the head-to-head format, but the course is now shorter and with tighter turns. Canada’s team is led by Caroline Calvé, the first Canadian female alpine snowboarder to win a World Cup event. Calvé will have chances to medal in both slalom events.