“The party is just starting for Canada,” said Bilodeau, who dedicated his triumph to his older brother, who has cerebral palsy. “My brother is my inspiration.

“This is too good to be true.”

Speaking of his 26.75-point run, he said: Everything was perfect. I just let it happen. I just let it go.”

British Columbia’s Premier Gordon Campbell congratulated Bilodeau in a statement.

“Canadians have been dreaming of this moment for decades and Alexandre’s

spectacular performance was a breath-taking moment for millions across our country,” Campbell said.

“This gold medal performance will be chronicled as one of the greatest

moments in Canadian sport history. It will inspire millions of young people fromacross our country to work hard and pursue their dreams.”

North Vancouver’s Dale Begg-Smith, skiing for Australia, wins silver (26.58). Bryon Wilson of the U.S. bronze (26.08). Canadian Vincent Marquis posted a score of 25.88 for fourth. Fellow Canuck Pierre-Alexandre Rousseau was fifth with 25.83. Canadian Maxime Gingras (24.13) was 11th.

The top draw in snowboarding is Shaun White, the reigning halfpipe gold medallist, highly fancied to add to his huge haul of trophies as he takes to the air in a routine of acrobatic jumps, twists and tricks.

Australia’s Begg-Smith, 25, who took gold in the men’s moguls in Torino in 2006, was on a hot streak earlier this month, winning three World Cup competitions in a row until his run was snapped but he still tops the overall moguls standings.

Steve Desovich, coach of the Canadian-born Begg-Smith, said his charge was “quite pleased” with his form in the run-up to Vancouver.

“He’s feeling really good and he’s really peaking right in time for the Games, not that he will allow himself to think that way, because moguls is such a precarious event,” he told The Australian newspaper.

Canada’s Heil is also in top form heading into the Games, going one better than Begg-Smith and making it four World Cup wins on the trot to also top the overall standings in the moguls, in which competitors are required to perform two different jumps.

The 26-year-old is confident despite the inevitable pressure of defending her crown.

“I dealt with a lot of pressure in 2006. But I’ve grown up a lot since then,” she said after her recent win in Calgary.

China are targeting two golds in freestyle. Han Xiaopeng took gold last time around in the men’s aerials — in which competitors soar into the air, performing different jumps that combine back flips and twists — and three-time reigning world champion Li Nina took silver in the ladies’ event.

The freestyle programme is bolstered this year by the addition of ski cross which involves a timed qualification run before four skiers race down the course incorporating turns, flat sections and traverses as well as rolls, banks and ridges.

In snowboarding, there is no question that Shaun White will be the star attraction. White performs in the halfpipe, in which competitors perform their routine on the inside of a half-cylinder shaped snow tube or ramp.

The 23-year-old took gold in Torino in 2006, one of three snowboarding wins for the United States, matched by Switzerland, whose haul included the men’s and ladies’ parallel giant slalom.

But his task will be made a little easier by the absence of Kevin Pearce, one of the few riders to have beaten White in head-to-head competition. Pearce suffered a serious head injury in training this month.

In the ladies’ halfpipe American gold medallist Hannah Teter is expected to face competition from compatriot Gretchen Bleiler, who earned silver behind Teter in 2006.

Two-time world champion and two-time World Cup winner Lindsey Jacobellis is looking to add the elusive Olympic title to her medal collection in the snowboard cross, in which four racers bomb downhill over a series of jumps and ramps.

The snowboarding and freestyle skiing events will be held at Cypress Mountain, near Vancouver. The skiing runs were closed to the public earlier than planned to protect the course after a spell of warm and wet weather.

The top draw in snowboarding is Shaun White, the reigning halfpipe gold medallist, highly fancied to add to his huge haul of trophies as he takes to the air in a routine of acrobatic jumps, twists and tricks.

Australia’s Begg-Smith, 25, who took gold in the men’s moguls in Torino in 2006, was on a hot streak earlier this month, winning three World Cup competitions in a row until his run was snapped but he still tops the overall moguls standings.

Steve Desovich, coach of the Canadian-born Begg-Smith, said his charge was “quite pleased” with his form in the run-up to Vancouver.

“He’s feeling really good and he’s really peaking right in time for the Games, not that he will allow himself to think that way, because moguls is such a precarious event,” he told The Australian newspaper.

Canada’s Heil is also in top form heading into the Games, going one better than Begg-Smith and making it four World Cup wins on the trot to also top the overall standings in the moguls, in which competitors are required to perform two different jumps.

The 26-year-old is confident despite the inevitable pressure of defending her crown.

“I dealt with a lot of pressure in 2006. But I’ve grown up a lot since then,” she said after her recent win in Calgary.

China are targeting two golds in freestyle. Han Xiaopeng took gold last time around in the men’s aerials — in which competitors soar into the air, performing different jumps that combine back flips and twists — and three-time reigning world champion Li Nina took silver in the ladies’ event.

The freestyle programme is bolstered this year by the addition of ski cross which involves a timed qualification run before four skiers race down the course incorporating turns, flat sections and traverses as well as rolls, banks and ridges.

In snowboarding, there is no question that Shaun White will be the star attraction. White performs in the halfpipe, in which competitors perform their routine on the inside of a half-cylinder shaped snow tube or ramp.

The 23-year-old took gold in Torino in 2006, one of three snowboarding wins for the United States, matched by Switzerland, whose haul included the men’s and ladies’ parallel giant slalom.

But his task will be made a little easier by the absence of Kevin Pearce, one of the few riders to have beaten White in head-to-head competition. Pearce suffered a serious head injury in training this month.

In the ladies’ halfpipe American gold medallist Hannah Teter is expected to face competition from compatriot Gretchen Bleiler, who earned silver behind Teter in 2006.

Two-time world champion and two-time World Cup winner Lindsey Jacobellis is looking to add the elusive Olympic title to her medal collection in the snowboard cross, in which four racers bomb downhill over a series of jumps and ramps.

The snowboarding and freestyle skiing events will be held at Cypress Mountain, near Vancouver. The skiing runs were closed to the public earlier than planned to protect the course after a spell of warm and wet weather.

Vancouver (AFP) –

BIATHLON
Magdalena Neuner

Blonde pin-up Neuner was the darling of German sport in 2008 and although injuries have blighted her fairytale rise, she is coming back into form for Vancouver.

Having been voted Germany’s sportswoman of the year in 2007, Neuner became the queen of biathlon after just two World Cup seasons and had won six world titles by the time she finished celebrating her 21st birthday.

She won the overall World Cup title in 2008 and it seemed the biathlon world lay at her feet.

But after her successful winters of 2007 and 2008, the bubble burst in 2009 after a bout of flu while a bacterial infection has hampered her pre-season training.

She struggled at the 2009 world championships, but still came away with a silver after Germany finished second in the relay.

Despite her setbacks, Neuner still did enough to end the season fourth in the overall World Cup rankings and finished second in the sprint discipline.

Born in the German alpine region of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Neuner showed she was hitting form for Vancouver after winning the first 15km individual competition in Italy last week despite picking up three penalties on the shooting range.

The photogenic Neuner led a cleansweep for Germany in Antholz with teammate Kati Wilhelm second and Andrea Henkel third.

Her passions include knitting – making woolly hats is her speciality – and music – she plays the harp – with both hobbies inspired by family members.

But as a girl who knows how to handle a gun, she is also a licenced motorbike rider and regularly takes her father’s machine out for a spin.

Neuner will celebrate her 23rd birthday just days before the Olympic Winter Games start.