Jump to content

Alexandre Bilodeau: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
No edit summary
Line 169: Line 169:
[[de:Alexandre Bilodeau]]
[[de:Alexandre Bilodeau]]
[[fr:Alexandre Bilodeau]]
[[fr:Alexandre Bilodeau]]
[[it:Alexandre Bilodeau]]]
[[ja:アレキサンダー・ビロドウ]]
[[ja:アレキサンダー・ビロドウ]]
[[no:Alexandre Bilodeau]]
[[no:Alexandre Bilodeau]]

Revision as of 19:04, 20 February 2010

Alexandre Bilodeau
Alexandre Bilodeau in 2010
Personal information
Height1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Weight76 kg (168 lb; 12.0 st)
Websitewww.alexbilodeau.com
Sport
Country Canada
SportFreestyle skiing
Medal record
Representing  Canada
Men's freestyle skiing
Gold medal – first place 2010 Vancouver Moguls
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2009 Inawashiro Dual Moguls

Alexandre Bilodeau (born September 8, 1987) is a Canadian freestyle skier from Montreal, Quebec. Bilodeau currently resides in Rosemère, Quebec. Bilodeau won a gold medal in the men's moguls at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, becoming the first Canadian to win a gold medal at an Olympic Games held in Canada.

Career

In 2006, he finished 11th at the Olympics and later in the world cup season became the youngest athlete in history to win a World Cup moguls event. In the 2005-06 overall World Cup standings he managed to finish second and won the FIS rookie of the year title.[1] In February 2009, he won four straight World Cup events and was part of two Canadian sweeps of the men's podium in moguls. He achieved this together with Vincent Marquis and Pierre-Alexandre Rousseau. Following these victories Bilodeau clinched the 2009 overall moguls title on February 20.[2] At the 2009 Freestyle World Championships he finished eighth in the moguls event and followed that by winning gold in the dual moguls.[3]

Bilodeau was a member of the Canadian moguls team going to the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.[4] He started the competition on Sunday, February 14th in favourable conditions. This was in contrast to the previous day for the women in which they skied in rain, sleet, and generally slushy conditions. Bilodeau finished the qualification run in 2nd place overall.[5] In the final run, Alexandre Bilodeau threw a back double full on the first jump and followed it with a back iron cross on the second. His jump and style scores combined with the second fastest run of the night, saw him scoring 26.75 points to win the gold. With the gold he became the first Canadian to win a Gold Medal during a Canadian-hosted Olympics.[6]

The gold medal victory elicited celebrations across Vancouver and Canada. Canadians celebrated around the Vancouver Olympic cauldron and crowds spilled onto Robson Street in downtown Vancouver waving the flag and singing the Canadian national anthem.[7] 22,000 people entered BC Place the next day to witness his medal presentation.[8]

Personal life

He is the son of Serge Bilodeau and Sylvie Michaud. His older brother, Frédéric, was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at a young age and told that he would be unable to walk by the time he was 10. Frédéric is now age 28 and still has the ability to walk.[9] He also has a younger sister, Béatrice. [10] When he was a child, he often visited his brother Frédéric's school for children with special needs. The courage shown by his older brother and the students always left him awestruck.

As a child, he was an avid hockey player. He often played hockey with neighbourhood friends, who happened to be the sons of legendary Olympic speedskater Gaétan Boucher. However, his mother got tired of taking Frédéric, their sister Béatrice and him from one rink to another for hockey games, and instead she encouraged him to sign up for downhill skiing. That decision came shortly after Bilodeau saw Jean-Luc Brassard win Olympic gold in moguls at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway. So, he, only seven years old at the time, told his mom he would quit hockey if she let him try the moguls. [11]

He graduated from the Collège Jean-Eudes, an elite French-language high school in Montreal where he studied sciences. Bilodeau is currently studying environmental sciences at College Montmorency, a pre-university and technical college in Laval, Quebec, a suburb of Montreal. [12]

His heroes are his brother Frédéric and Canadian freestyle skier Jean-Luc Brassard. He has said his father is the most important influence in his career. Bilodeau's nickname among friends and family is “Big Al.” If he was not an athlete, he said he would be a fighter pilot. [13] In his free time, he enjoys skiing and playing the piano.[14] Bilodeau speaks French fluently and English.[13]

Results

Alexandre Bilodeau with his 2010 Winter Olympics gold medal

Olympic results

Date Games Location Discipline Results Notes
February 15, 2006 2006 Torino Olympics Sauze d'Oulx Men's Moguls 11th [15]
February 14, 2010 2010 Vancouver Olympics Cypress Mountain Men's Moguls Gold [16]

World Cup victories

Source

Date Location Discipline
January 7, 2006 Mont Gabriel, Canada Moguls
February 4, 2006 Spindleruv Mlyn, Czech Republic Moguls
February 7, 2009 Cypress, Canada Moguls
February 13, 2009 Are, Sweden Moguls
February 14, 2009 Are, Sweden Dual Moguls
February 20, 2009 Myrkdalen-Voss, Norway Moguls
March 18, 2009 La Plagne, France Moguls

World Championship results

Source

Date Location Discipline Event Result
March 9, 2007 Madonna di Campiglio, Italy Moguls 2007 Freestyle World Championships 14th
March 10, 2007 Madonna di Campiglio, Italy Dual Moguls 2007 Freestyle World Championships 5th
March 7, 2009 Inawashiro, Japan Moguls 2009 Freestyle World Championships 8th
March 8, 2009 Inawashiro, Japan Dual Moguls 2009 Freestyle World Championships Gold

References

  1. ^ http://www.skicanada.org/snowonline/index.cfm?DSP=Article&Act=Detail&ArticleID=4550&IssueID=124 Rookie of the year
  2. ^ "Bilodeau clinches WC moguls title with fourth straight win". The Sports Network. 2009-02-20. Retrieved 2009-02-20.
  3. ^ "Canada's Bilodeau captures gold in dual moguls at worlds". The Sports Network. 2009-03-08. Retrieved 2009-03-08.
  4. ^ "Elation, heartbreak highlight freestyle Olympic team". CBC News. 25 January 2010. Retrieved 2010-01-25.
  5. ^ "All Canadian men's mogulists qualify for final". CTV News. 14 February 2010. Retrieved 2010-02-14.
  6. ^ Rook, Katie (2010-02-14). "Bilodeau wins Canada's first gold on home soil". CTV Olympics. Retrieved 2010-02-14.
  7. ^ "Bilodeau Erases Canada's Olympic Drought With First Home Gold". Bloomberg Markets. 14 February 2010. Retrieved 2010-02-15.
  8. ^ Lori Culbert (15 February 2010). "Bilodeau dons Canada's first home gold medal". Montreal Gazette. Retrieved 2010-02-16.
  9. ^ http://www.ctvolympics.ca/freestyle-skiing/news/newsid=9575.html?cid=rssctv
  10. ^ Canadian Olympic Committee, profile, accessed Feb 15 2010, http://www.olympic.ca/en/athletes/alexandre-bilodeau/profile
  11. ^ Hamilton Spectator, Olympic Gold inspired by disabled brother, Feb 15 2010, http://www.thespec.com/News/BreakingNews/article/722029
  12. ^ Vancouver 2010 profile, http://www.vancouver2010.com/olympic-freestyle-skiing/athletes/alexandre-bilodeau_ath1012843tY.html, accessed Feb 15 2010,
  13. ^ a b Canadian Olympic Committee, profile, accessed Feb 15 2010, http://www.olympic.ca/en/athletes/alexandre-bilodeau/profile/
  14. ^ Canadian Freestyle Skiing Association, accessed Feb 15 2010, http://www.freestyleski.com/en/index.php/national-team/alexandre-bilodeau/
  15. ^ CTV, Vancouver Olympics, airdate 15 February 2010
  16. ^ NBC, 2010 Winter Olympics, airdate 16 February 2010
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Alexandre Bilodeau.

]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Alexandre_Bilodeau&oldid=345263236"