STE-ADELE, Que. – Canadian aerialists earned five medals at a Noram freestyle ski competition Saturday.
Remi Belanger of Terrebonne, Que., won gold in a Canadian men’s sweep, leaving Sean Butler of Niagara Falls, Ont., with his first-ever Noram silver medal and Olivier Rochon of Gatineau, Que., third in the competition that included members of the Russian World Cup squad.
In women’s aerials, Allison Treleaven of the U.S., captured the gold medal, as Nicole Mulder of East St. Paul, Man., was second and Laurence Allard-Riendeau of Montreal third.
“It was a really good day. I’m really glad,” said Nicolas Fontaine, head aerials coach of the national development team. “I was expecting a much harder time. I wasn’t expecting 1-2-3.”
The Russians included Olympic bronze medallist Vladimir Lebedev, who emerged fifth behind fourth-place teammate Yury Zukal.
Belanger, 20, was particularly pleased with his win.
“I felt really great,” said Belanger, who posted a personal best score of 191.31 despite injuries sustained in a training accident Friday when his left ski fell off in mid-flight and he tumbled after making a one-ski landing.
Second-place Butler, who scored 185.51 points for his two jumps, also shook off a training accident. After suffering a minor concussion Thursday, he took Friday off training before competing.
Even better for Butler, the score for his triple-twisting double somersault qualified him to start trying triple flips in competition.
“I want to do triples with the big guys,” said the 21-year-old recruited trampolinist.
Third-place Rochon scored 180.26, while the next Canadian was Jean-Christophe Andre of Montreal in sixth.
In the women’s field, Treleaven won in 150.94, with Mulder second in 141.83 and Allard-Riendeau third in 133.42. Sabrina Guerin of Laval, Que., placed fourth while Crystal Lee of Queensville, Ont., was sixth.
