Alexandre Bilodeau, the new gold standard

UPDATED, 8 p.m. Pacific:

So that's your gold standard, Canada. Take a look. Enjoy it. Savour it. 

Big thanks and big ups to Alexandre Bilodeau, his gold medal tonight in the moguls the first gold medal ... - aw, let's just retire that one now. You know the rest of it. We don't need to write it any more, and hallelujah to that. It was too early for the the beads of sweat to start forming on the stiff upper lips of Marcel Aubut & Co., but that's never stopped us before. 

Bilodeau stopped it - history, at the age of 22, from Montreal, the place where the whole drought began in 1976, born a scant few months before it continued in Calgary. Appropriately, he was something of a longshot.  

For a generation of us who grew up being put to sleep at night by the national anthem TV sign-off, Greg Joy's silver medal-winning high jump was the accompanying, True North Strong and Free shining moment.  

For GenX, it was Liz Manley biting her medal. Two times hosting the Olympics, and oh-fer.

Now comes this one to live on for the YouTube generation. Until this brilliant run out at Cypress Mountain - maligned Cypress, snowless Cypress, our "special child" according to this morning VANOC press briefer, now become a field of dreams, an ugly duckling story wrapped up in the red-and-white Maple Leaf.

One night after Jenn Heil was second best then faced the question of pressure with typical grace, Bilodeau picked her and everyone else up. 

So this Olympics is underway in terms of host-country momentum, always important at these kind of global sporting affairs, but also in terms of simple history. The guy at the bottom of the hill, wrapped in the flag, deserves the last word, because he made it happen: "The party's just starting for Canada."

Comments

[Greg]

Before we totally get past the whole "first gold on home soil" thing I wish we could spare a thought for Cheryl Gibson. In Montreal she won the silver in the 400 IM and of course the winner was an East German. To me she will always be our true first home gold medal winner.

[james markham]

Such a proud moment to win on the slopes but when O Canada is being played during medal presentation, please remove your hat.