Jasey-Jay Anderson Wins Snowboarding Gold

WEST VANCOUVER, B.C. - Veteran Canadian snowboarder Jasey-Jay Anderson finally has his long-awaited Olympic medal.

The 34-year-old native of Mont-Tremblant, Que., won gold in the men's parallel giant slalom at the Vancouver Winter Games on Saturday.

Benjamin Karl of Austria settled for silver, finishing the two-run final .35 seconds behind Anderson under fog and drizzle at Cypress Mountain.

Mathieu Bozzetto of France took the bronze after edging Stanislav Detkov of Russia.

Matthew Morison of Burketon, Ont., was 11th while Toronto's Michael Lambert finished 12th.

Anderson is the defending world champion in the parallel giant slalom but had failed to make the podium in his past three Olympic appearances.

His previous best showing was fifth in snowboard cross four years ago in Turin. He was 20th in the parallel giant slalom in 2006.

He couldn't believe he had won gold Saturday.

"Shock," he said in a CTV interview of his reaction upon seeing the results.


It's the third snowboarding medal for Canada after Mike Robertson won silver and Maelle Ricker took gold in the snowboard cross early in the Games.

The result came just minutes after Canada won gold in men's long-track speedskating. Canada leads the overall gold medal tally with 12.

Anderson was in 20th position after the first of the two qualification runs but easily moved on after a lightning-fast second leg. He went into the final run of the gold-medal race behind by seven hundredths of a second.

"I love being in that situation where I have to rise above the challenge and try to dig as deep as I can and see what's there," he told CTV. "There's no better feeling."

Sixteen of 30 riders advanced to the elimination rounds where two racers at a time compete head-to-head down the slopes.

The gold caps Anderson's stellar career, which includes 59 World Cup medals with 26 gold and four world titles.

He had planned to retire to his blueberry farm in Quebec's Laurentians five years ago, but the chance to race in the Olympics one last time at home was too tempting to pass up.

Anderson also couldn't turn down the opportunity to compete with the best gear he's ever had in his 18-year career.

Over the years, Anderson had repeatedly been frustrated by equipment deficiencies. But with the help of sponsors and the Own the Podium funding program, he helped craft better gear for Canada's alpine boarding team.

The team developed a new plate system - the components that sit between the boots and the board - in a top-secret program.

The equipment has been paying dividends. Anderson, Lambert and Morison have been tearing up the World Cup circuit.

Each of the Canadians have won World Cup events this season.

Anderson, third in the tour standings, has two golds and two bronze medals.
Fourth-ranked Lambert has a gold and a silver.