Canada's McEachran claims World Cup silver in slopestyle

SILVAPLANA, Switzerland — Canada's Evan McEachran closed the World Cup slopestyle season with a silver medal on Saturday.

The Oakville, Ont., native finished with a score of 93 points. Sweden's Jesper Tjader (94.25) struck gold, while Norway's Birk Ruud (92.50) claimed bronze.

It was McEachran's first podium finish this season and first since last January when he took bronze in the event.

“It's absolutely incredible. I’ve run into all sorts of problems in my finals this year, and I’m really happy to be finishing like this," he said. "I’ve worked hard on my mental preparation over the past few months, and I feel like it has really helped.

"It sounds a bit cliché, but I focused on just enjoying skiing and putting less pressure on myself, and that’s made a positive difference.”

The 26-year-old scored a 91 on his first run to provisionally place him in third. He put up his top score in the second run to elevate himself to second.

“It was a very demanding run that needed to be executed almost perfectly if I wanted to get onto the podium," McEachran said. "I was feeling confident, and I knew I had what it took, but to do it twice in a row was just amazing.”

McEachran is a two-time Olympian, having competed at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games, where he finished sixth in slopestyle.

At the 2022 Beijing Olympics, he finished ninth in the men's big air event and 24th in the slopestyle.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 25, 2023.