Oldham, Asselin achieve new highs in big air as Canadians take gold and bronze

COPPER MOUNTAIN, Colo. — Megan Oldham earned the first big air victory of her career and Olivia Asselin had her first-ever World Cup medal as Canada won gold and bronze on Friday.

Oldham, from Parry Sound, Ont., had a strong first descent that earned her 89.00 points, to which she added another 87.00 on her second run for a cumulative score of 176.00.

“I wasn’t expecting it," said Oldham. "I was mainly focused on landing my jumps, and I was hoping for good weather, which we got.

"I’m happy to have ended up with both feet on the podium."

Mathilde Gremaud of Switzerland earned 84.00 points on her final run, racking up a total score of 172.00, which was good for silver.

Because all of her opponents had completed their three jumps before her final descent, Oldham was already assured her victory.

"It was crazy. It was my first-ever 'victory lap!' It felt great to be standing at the top, deciding what I wanted to do. I really enjoyed that moment," said Oldham, who now holds third place in the overall rankings.

It was Oldham’s sixth medal in a World Cup competition, and her first in big air.

Asselin, from Lévis, Que., earned 83.50 and 85.50 points for her runs, for a total of 169.00 for her bronze.

"Things didn’t go particularly well in training, so my expectations were low, but I landed some great jumps in the final, so I’m really happy," said Asselin.

Calgary's Rylee Hackler finished 14th in the qualifiers.

There were no Canadians in the men's big air final. Ottawa's Noah Porter MacLennan was the top Canadian in 15th. Alexander Henderson (Apex, B.C.), Max Moffatt (Caledon, Ont.) and Evan McEachran (Oakville, Ont.) finished 31st, 33rd and 39th, respectively.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 16, 2022.