Women snowboarders at Sochi courtesy globalnews.ca.
It is hard to believe that four years ago snowboarder Dominique Maltais was lying in a heap on Cypress Mountain after a crash during an Olympic qualifying run, coughing up blood from a collapsed lung. It was there that she vowed to come back stronger than ever in Sochi. Yesterday, Domique's drive paid off as she danced at the bottom of the Caucasus Mountains, capturing silver in snowboard cross.
The 33-year-old from Petite-Riviere-St.-Francois, Quebec had earned a bronze medal in Torino eight years ago. Disappointment followed in Vancouver where she failed to qualify. Coming into Sochi, Canadian Maelle Ricker, the defending gold medalist, was the favourite. However, she crashed in the quarterfinals. Another favourite, American Lindsey Jacobellis, crashed in the semi-finals, right in front of Maltais. However, Maltais hung on and crossed the finish line in second place behind Czech Eva Samkova and ahead of France's Chloe Trespeuch.
Once Dominique collects her silver medal, she will return to Canada where she is a firefighter. Her father, the mayor of their hometown, cheered for his daughter at the bottom of the mountain yesterday. "It is the most beautiful day ever!" exclaimed the proud papa. Felicitations, Dominique!
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