(Zhangjiakou) Before her first run in the final, Elizabeth Hosking announced to her coach that she would perform the 1080, her most difficult jump.
Updated at 12:16 a.m.
“If you do it, land it,” replied Brian Smith.
“I’m going to land it. »
A few seconds later, the windsurfer from Mille-Isles succeeded in the maneuver in the huge half-pipe of Secret Garden, Thursday morning (Beijing time). His score of 73 points allowed him to settle in fifth place before the last two tries.
PHOTO SEAN KILPATRICK, THE CANADIAN PRESS
Elizabeth Hosking had finished at 19and rank in PyeongChang.
She did even better on her second run (79.25), her best ever, exactly what she wanted for her second Olympic Games.
It was not the hoped-for podium – she finished sixth – but that is almost an anecdote.
Intimidated at her first experience in PyeongChang (19and), where the 16-year-old was the youngest representative of the entire Canadian delegation, this time she felt like she belonged to the elite of her discipline. Even the American Chloe Kim, gold medalist for the second time and huge star of her sport, had shown her admiration after qualifying the day before.
“I admit that I was still very nervous at the start of the competition,” said the 20-year-old athlete as Kim performed one last time under the Zhangjiakou sun.
“I wanted to be able to land my run with the 1080. To land it a second time and even improve my score, it’s really just amazing. »
Hosking finished 9 points behind bronze medalist Sena Tomita of Japan. The Spaniard Queralt Castellet, eldest in this final at 32, won silver thanks to a fantastic second try.
“I wanted the podium, but I did everything I could, welcomed the Quebecer. I still want it. I think it even lit a little flame in me. I’m not close to finishing, I want podiums, I want to come back to the Olympics and get a medal. »
Brooke Dhondt, the other Canadian in the final, also stood out with a 10and square. The 16-year-old Albertan is the youngest member of the entire Canadian team in Beijing, like Hosking four years earlier.
Two famous “friends”
The native of Longueuil had a tough week at the Genting snow park. His trainer was initially placed in solitary confinement for a few days after being in close contact with a positive case of COVID-19. Her workouts are far from going the way she wanted.
After crashing on her first jump in qualifying, Hosking recovered dramatically on her final run. This earned her the congratulations from Kim, who was impressed by the “mental toughness” of her Canadian rival.
“That girl is amazing, even as a person,” Hosking said of the Korean-Californian. “I don’t know if we’re friends, it’s up to her to say, but I admire her a lot and I’m happy to be in a half-pipe with her. »
One thing is certain, Hosking has another now famous friend: Ailing Eileen Gu, gold medalist in the freestyle ski jump. The American-born Chinese came to watch the snowboarding final, before her freestyle downhill training, where she is the favorite for gold on February 14 (as in the halfpipe on February 18). She gave a warm hug to Kim, a friend.
A short time later, Hosking greeted Gu when she skied past, closely followed by her entourage. They met at a dinner party in Saas-Fee, where the two were training in October.
A human adventure
Coach Brian Smith had only two words to describe his protege’s performance in China: “mission accomplished”.
“There was a click, he rejoiced. As a coach, we want that to happen. It doesn’t matter what motivational speech I give him, what I try to tell him, oh no, that’s okay, just breathe. These are words. But at some point, it has to be done internally. She must make the decision herself to control all these factors. »
“As you can see, she demonstrated that not only to herself, but to me and to the whole planet. »
Even more importantly, Hosking had a human adventure during his fortnight. Smith and his wife Catherine Parent, who is also his manager, have coached her since she was 10 years old. She’s kind of part of the family.
On Tuesday, she asked Smith to get her a gray Sharpie pencil. He thought she wanted to write a word on her Quebec-made board (Utopia MFG). It was finally inside one of her mittens that she wrote this: “For little Parent-Smith”.
She revealed it to the camera after her first qualifying run. The word was for the couple’s upcoming second child in June.
After flashing it on camera for Parent, she showed it to Smith for the first time at the end of an interview with The Press after qualifying. The two fell into each other’s arms in the mixed zone, their eyes watering.
” Are you serious ? told him the coach. Do you know what a good human being you are, to think of other people at a time like today? You don’t think about yourself, do you think about your family? At 20, it’s amazing. »
“It touched me a lot because I know how important she is in my life,” Smith added to The Press. I saw how important I too was in his life. »
“Godmother” of the future baby, Hosking was involved from the start. “We wanted to give him some softness before the Games,” explained Smith. Give him something to look forward to even after the Olympics. Let it not be fair: the Games are over, your life is over. »
On Tuesday, Catherine Parent, who remained in Quebec, had an ultrasound. It seems that the baby was doing a “high five” in the photo. The technician managed to determine the sex, but did not reveal it to the mother.
She filed the response in an envelope. It will be Elizabeth who will open it when she returns home to announce the news to the parents.
“We wanted to show him that life can be sweet, that there can be a lot of happiness, a lot of fun other than just that,” Smith said, pointing to the halfpipe. It helps put things in perspective. »