Evan McEachran secured a bronze medal during the World Cup freestyle skiing slopestyle event in Laax, Switzerland, this past Saturday. Hailing from Oakville, Ontario, he initially held the fifth position after his first run but managed to impress with a remarkable score of 82.70 points in the second round, propelling him onto the podium.
The gold medal was claimed by Norway’s Birk Ruud with a score of 85.08, while Austria’s Matej Svancer secured the silver medal with a score of 84.08.
McEachran, who is 28 years old, is gearing up for his third appearance at the upcoming Milan Cortina Games, having represented Canada in both 2018 and 2022. The men’s slopestyle competition is scheduled to take place from February 7 to February 10 in Livigno, Italy.
In the women’s category, China’s Eileen Gu clinched the gold medal with a score of 85.13. American Maarin Hamill and Austria’s Lara Wolf claimed the silver and bronze medals, respectively, with scores of 71.38 and 67.85. The highest-ranking Canadian in the event was Elena Gaskell from Vernon, British Columbia, who finished in fifth place with a top score of 62.75.
In the women’s halfpipe event later on the same day in Laax, Canadian snowboarder Elizabeth Hosking, aged 24 from Longueuil, Quebec, finished in sixth place. Despite initially holding the fourth position after the first run, she experienced a fall towards the end of her second run.
The gold medal in the women’s halfpipe event was won by South Korea’s Gaon Choi, with Japan’s Rise Kudo securing silver and China’s Cai Xuetong earning the bronze medal.