Brendan Mackay of Calgary, Alberta won the gold medal on Thursday in a World Cup men’s halfpipe skiing event at Canada Olympic Park in Calgary. Mackay posted a score of 97 points for his fourth World Cup medal. Mackay was one of three Canadians to reach the podium in the halfpipe skiing World Cup events in Calgary on Thursday. Simon D’Artois of North Vancouver, British Columbia won the bronze medal in the men’s event, and Rachael Karker of Erin, Ontario won the bronze medal in the women’s event.
In the men’s halfpipe skiing World Cup, Alex Ferreira of the United States won the silver medal with a score of 94.8 points. D’Artois had 94.4 points. Mackay reached the podium by 6.8 points and D’Artois reached the podium by 4.2 points. Calgary’s Noah Bowman was in fourth place with 90.2 points.
In the World Cup men’s halfpipe standings, Ferreira leads with 180 points. Mackay is second with 160 points and D’Artois is third with 105 points.
Mackay previously placed second at the World Cup men’s halfpipe event in Calgary in 2020, placed second at the World Cup men’s halfpipe event in Aspen, Colorado on March 21, and placed third at the World Cup men’s halfpipe event in Copper Mountain, Colorado earlier this month. For D’Artois, it was his sixth World Cup medal.
In the women’s halfpipe skiing World Cup, Karker won the bronze medal with a score of 90.2 points. She reached the podium by one point over Kexin Zhang of China, who was in fourth place with 89.2 points. Ailing Eileen Gu of China won the gold medal with a score of 96.8 points and Hanna Faulhaber of the United States won the silver medal with 92.8 points.
This was Karker’s ninth World Cup medal. She is currently second in the World Cup women’s halfpipe standings with 140 points. Gu leads with 200 points. The medals for Karker, Mackay and D’Artois will give them confidence as they prepare for the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing.
