PENTICTON, B.C. - Canadian aerialists dominated the season-opening Noram freestyle ski competition Saturday by capturing four medals, including two gold.
Olivier Rochon of Gatineau, Que., and Genevieve Tougas of Saint Hubert, Que., scored wins with huge personal best scores in extremely cold conditions.
Rochon, 19, began defence of his Noram overall aerials title by scoring a career-high 21.2.28 points for his two jumps. Admitting to being a bit of a perfectionist, Rochon said, "I'm really pleased. It was a good day, but I know I could have done better."
"This year my degree of difficulty will be a lot higher because I'm just jumping triples," he added.
It was a runaway victory, with Dylan Ferguson of the United States a distant second in 187.52.
The bronze medal went to Sean Butler of Niagara Falls, Ont., in 187.07, while Jean-Christophe Andre of Montreal was fourth in 161.66.
In women's aerials, Tougas' winning score came with a personal best of 154.33 points, while teammate Sabrina Guerin of Laval, Que., also had a career-high score of 150.21 for the silver medal.
It was also Tougas's first Noram victory after placing second in a Calgary Noram last season. She said she hopes to jump the entire season after missing a good portion of last season with a broken wrist.
"I came back strong, but it's not really a surprise," said Tougas, 21. "I was ready for it."
Sami Palmer of the United States was third in 125.26.
The next Canadian was Laurence Allard-Riendeau of Montreal in sixth and Stephanie Pratte of Quebec City in seventh.
The Noram continues with more aerials competition Sunday.
