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Cassie Sharp wanted more. The Canadian freestyle star was upset after finishing on the podium on Saturday in the halfpipe she calls home.
The reigning X Games Aspen women's champion and two-time Olympic medalist finished third after her first run, which she finished with a 1080 (three rotations in the air) and a fist pump.
But the 2018 women's Olympic champion fell and did not complete her second run in the WinSport tube, which was slower than qualifying due to snow. The Canadian dropped from the podium to fifth place.
“Heavy weather conditions. It just slowed down and slowed down,” Sharp said.
“A podium finish would be amazing, but it’s important to just have those competitive nerves and go through the process of competing and make sure you can harness that energy.”
Watch the halfpipe at the Freestyle World Cup stop at Canadian Olympic Park in Calgary.
Helping Sharp ease her transition from frustration to philosophizing was her two-year-old daughter Louella at the finish line.
“Having it is realizing that, 'Yes, this is very important to me, but I also have bigger fish to fry,'” Sharp, 33, said.
“She's my little support group. When I go downstairs and get mad or have an accident, it's really nice to see her down there giving me a big smile and saying, “You did well, Mom.”
Canada will send up to four men and four women to compete in the halfpipe next month at the Cortina Winter Olympics in Milan.
Sharp, of Comox, British Columbia, and Amy Fraser, of Calgary, have already met the criteria to make Canada's Olympic team ahead of the world championships in Calgary.
Fraser, who was sixth on Saturday, was working for a big score in her second pass through the pipe when she made her final move, which was two and a half turns at 900.
“I'm coming back from a shoulder injury and I have to rock my right shoulder and it hurt a lot,” Frazier said.
“I still have a lot to improve. I know I still have a lot in store.”
Not enough big names
The Calgary halfpipe was the third World Cup event this season, following the first round in China and the US Grand Prix in Copper Mountain, Colorado.
The field was missing a few big names as athletes manage their bodies ahead of the X Games Jan. 23-25 in Aspen, Colorado, and the Olympics.
Neither reigning women's world champion Zoe Atkin of Britain nor Olympic champion Eileen Gu of China competed in Calgary. This gave 15-year-old Indra Brown of Australia the opportunity to continue her outstanding season with her first World Cup win and third podium in three starts.
“It’s incredible,” Brown said. “I've been training hard this season, so to be able to put all my training into competition and show people what I've been working on is just a super special feeling. I'm just full of joy.”
Zhang Kexin of China was second and Svea Irving of the USA was third among women.
Calgary's Brendan McKay, the 2023 men's world champion, qualified for Saturday's final but withdrew with a lower-body injury.
Mackay's fiancee, Rachel Carker of Erin, Ont., who won Olympic bronze in 2022 behind silver medalist Sharpe, did not compete in Calgary due to a knee injury.
Goepper earned historic gold
Freestyle veteran Nick Goepper of the United States won men's gold on Saturday ahead of runner-up Finley Melville Ives of New Zealand and bronze medalist Birk Irving of the United States.
At 31, Goepper became the oldest person to win the World Cup in halfpipe.
Calgary's Dylan Marino helped his Olympic prospects by finishing sixth among the top Canadians.
The 27-year-old competed in a black Calgary Flames third jersey with “Blasty” the horse on the front.
“I’ve been wearing the Flames jersey since my first halfpipe world championship,” Marino said. “I’m not superstitious, but it’s definitely a bit of a good luck charm.”
Marino will continue to compete for an Olympic spot Jan. 8-10 at the next world championships in Aspen.
Both Sharpe and Fraser will skip it to continue training in the Calgary halfpipe.
“I'm definitely looking forward to just practicing and working through the next week to get everything locked in,” Sharpe said.
Sharp, Fraser, McKay and Karker have been invited to the X Games in Aspen, which is the final competition before the Winter Games for many of the world's top skiers and snowboarders.
