Liam Brearley of Gravenhurst, Ontario and Cameron Spalding of Havelock, Ontario each won medals on Saturday at a World Cup slopestyle snowboarding event in Laax, Switzerland. For Brearley it was his fourth World Cup medal, and for Spalding it was his first World Cup medal.
Brearley won a gold medal with 89.93 points, and Spalding won the bronze medal with 83.90 points. Canadians finished in three of the top four positions as Francis Jobin of Quebec City, Quebec finished in fourth place with a score of 78.36 points. Ryoma Kimata of Japan won the silver medal with 85.31 points. Brearley reached the podium by 11.57 points, and Spalding reached the podium by 5.54 points.
This was Brearley’s fourth World Cup podium. He previously won three other slopestyle snowboarding medals. Brearley won silver in Silvaplana, Switzerland on March 28, 2021 and March 26, 2023, and bronze in Calgary on February 16, 2020.
This was the first World Cup men’s slopestyle snowboarding event of the 2023-24 season. There are five events overall this season. The other events will take place in Mammoth Mountain, California on February 2, in Calgary, Alberta on February 11, in Spindleruv Mlyn, Czech Republic on March 16, and Silvaplana (where Brearley has had great success) on March 23. The medals for Brearley and Spalding will give them confidence as they prepare for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan/Cortina d’Ampezzo.
