Vancouver native beats out French, Swiss competitors
Canadian Maelle Ricker has won the gold in the women’s snowboarding cross, beating out Deborah Anthonioz of France and Switzerland’s Olivia Nobs, who won the silver and bronze, respectively. The favourite going into the event, Lindsey Jacobellis, placed fifth overall. Ricker, a 31-year-old Vancouver-native, struggled in the first of two qualifying runs, finishing 1.02 seconds behind the leader, Mellie Francon of Switzerland. Ricker placed fourth in the women’s Snowboard Cross event at the 2006 Winter Olympics. Warm temperatures and fog made for a slushy, difficult course, causing delays to the event and thousands of ticket cancellations.