88 at home of the ’88: Symbolic score nets Canadian Darcy Sharpe first World Cup victory

The Snow Rodeo FIS World Cup wrapped up with a made for the headlines finish on Sunday, as snowboarder Darcy Sharpe took his first ever gold.

At the home of the ’88 Olympics, Sharpe seized the men’s slopestyle World Cup win with a ride that netted him 88.85.

Speaking to LWC after the podium, he said that he hadn’t even thought about how special the score was for his top finish.

“I hadn’t thought about that that and is pretty special. Happy it held held through because those guys are all really talented,” he said.

Sharpe’s score came in the second of three runs on Sunday afternoon, which saw strong Chinook winds warming up the course and making the finals a difficult one for competitors.

By the time Sharpe’s third run of the day came, a series of mistakes by other riders brought on by those conditions clinched him the top finish.

As for the secret of his success, he said he slayed the rails.

Calgary a top spot for snowboard World Cups

Canada has held the Snow Rodeo FIS World Cup a record five times, and Calgary, three of those.

Sharpe called competing in the city special beyond just getting the gold.

“Bad my birthday here this week, and I’ve been coming here since I was a young kid, going to Nationals here,” he said.

Sharpe was joined on the podium by the US’s Dusty Henricksen in second, and Canadian Cameron Spalding in third.

On the women’s side, Julia Marino took the gold for slopestyle, followed by Canadians Laurie Blouin and Jasmine Baird in second and third.

In the halfpipe competition finals on Friday, Elizabeth Hosking was the only Canadian to podium, with a silver finish.

Calgary’s Brook D’Hondt took a fourth place finish in the halfpipe competition.

Photos from the Snow Rodeo FIS World Cup