In the shadow of champion Mikaël Kingsbury, Quebecer Justine Dufour-Lapointe could also, casually, mark the history of freestyle skiing in Canada by obtaining a third Olympic medal at the Beijing Games.
• Read also: [EN IMAGES] Beijing 2022 Games: The Journal arrives in another world
• Read also: Beijing 2022: Charles Hamelin and Marie-Philip Poulin named Canadian flag bearers
The feat is anything but trivial, since she finds herself in a position to surpass Jennifer Heil, an athlete she considers an “icon of mogul skiing”.
“I’m aware of this fact, it’s something that would be incredible, says Justine, about the possibility of getting ahead of Heil. But I don’t ski for honors and medals. We do it because we like it and my goal is above all to inspire other young girls.
At 27, Justine remains realistic. She has just been jostled by the youngest since the start of this season on the World Cup circuit. During the month of January, the youngest of the Dufour-Lapointe sisters nevertheless obtained a ninth place at Tremblant and a similar result the following week at Deer Valley.
The French Perrine Laffont, 23, remains among the big favorites to climb on the podium, she who had been crowned at the Pyeongchang Games in 2018. Her supremacy is however put to the test by the Japanese Anri Kawamura who, at 17, has already won three events this season. Australian Jakara Anthony is also one to watch, as are young Americans Tess Johnson and Olivia Giaccio.
Only the experience of Justine Dufour-Lapointe, gold medalist in Sochi (2014) and silver medalist in Pyeongchang, seems to be able to pull a rabbit out of her hat.
Vancouver Memories
The youngest of the Dufour-Lapointe sisters has lived. Even before finding herself in action at the Olympics, she particularly remembers watching Heil on the slopes when she was a teenager. This was the case at the Vancouver Games in 2010, when the Canadian won silver.
“I was 15, I was a spectator at the bottom of the course, I was more focused on my sister [Chloé] obviously, but I remember very well this medal that she had won for Canada”, says Justine, recalling that Chloé had done very well with a fifth place at only 18 years old.
About Justine, she was 19 years old when she made her Olympic debut in 2014, in Sochi. Fiery, the athlete had then won gold, ahead of Chloé, who will for her part be at her fourth Games in Beijing.
“I am no longer the same girl as at the first Games, agrees Justine. With age, I have greater maturity and that helps me a lot. I have a clearer perspective when things are not going so well. My toolbox is much fuller.”
In Beijing, Justine Dufour-Lapointe will try to pull out the right tools to hopefully create a surprise and write a new chapter in Canada’s history at the Olympic Games. The opportunity is fantastic to inspire the youngest.
-The first phase of qualifications is held from 5 a.m. Thursday morning (Quebec time). The men’s finals are scheduled for Saturday, while the women will be in action on Sunday.
– Among men, Mikaël Kingsbury could obtain a third Olympic medal, unheard of in the discipline on the men’s side, all nationalities combined. He obviously dreams of becoming a double Olympic champion, a feat that Alexandre Bilodeau has already achieved in 2010 and 2014.