Vancouver Proving to be Winter Olympics of Dreams

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Canada breaks gold curse, and Chinese skaters win gold third time around.

The 21st Olympic Winter Games is only a quarter of the way through a brief but beautiful lifespan of 16 days of sporting glory, but already the Vancouver Games have proven to be a place where dreams can come true.

Yesterday Cypress Mountain went wild as free skier Alexandre Bilodeau became the first ever Canadian to win Olympic Gold on home soil. In a tightly fought contest at the moguls, Bilodeau managed a blistering run through the course with two sensational jumps and fluid grace through the bumps.

Vancouver-born defector Dale Begg-Smith, skiing for Australia led the way with a safe but well-executed routine which saw him score 26.58 for his run. An impressive run from Olympic first-timer Bryon Wilson of the USA was unable to beat Begg-Smith’s speed and technical proficiency on the turns, before Bilodeau stepped up.

Bilodeau went all out for gold, performing a sensational double twist in his first air, one of the hardest tricks to negotiate and complete successfully. As he landed, Bilodeau flew through the turns before floating through an exemplary back flip with an iron-cross to finish in just 23.17 seconds.

Canada held its breath as the last competitor, France’s Guilbaut Colas raced through the course but failed to impress the judges. Bilodeau won the gold with a stunning score 26.75. “There’s so many golds to come. The party is just getting started,” promised Bilodeau as he spoke with the Associated Press.

In the pairs figure skating, Chinese husband and wife team Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo made it third time’s a charm, having previously won two Olympic bronze medals, the couple took the gold against the odds.

There was also Olympic redemption for American Bode Miller. Having wasted the chance of Olympic success at the 2006 Turin Games through excessive partying and drinking, Miller entered the downhill ski as an outside chance this year. The American won the bronze behind Didier Defago of Switzerland and Aksel Lund Svindal of Norway.