Canadian Olympic silver medalist Eliot Grondin of Sainte-Marie, Quebec won the gold medal in the men’s snowboard cross at a World Cup snowboarding event in Les Deux Alpes, France on Sunday. For Gondin, it was his fourth World Cup gold medal, and 10th World Cup medal overall. Grondin, who won the silver medal in the men’s snowboard cross at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing, has also won three World Cup silver medals and three World Cup bronze medals in the last four years.
On Sunday, Alessandro Haemmerle of Austria won the silver medal. Lucas Eguibar of Spain won the bronze medal. Grondin also won his first round heat, quarterfinals, and semifinals, leading up to the big final.
This was the first World Cup men’s snowboard cross event of the 2023-24 season. There are a dozen World Cup events this season with the last two coming in Mount St. Anne, Quebec on March 23 and 24.
Grondin’s three prior World Cup gold medals came on March 4, 2021 in Bakuriani, Georgia, on March 20, 2022 in Veysonnaz, Switzerland, and on March 25, 2023 in Mount St. Anne. The gold medal in France on Sunday will give Grondin confidence as he prepares for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan/Cortina d’Ampezzo.
