American teen wins gold in snowboard slopestyle gold in Calgary

Oliver Martin, centre, of the United States, celebrates his victory with second place finisher Redmond Gerard, left, of the United States, and third place finisher Norway's Marcus Kleveland following the men's World Cup slopestyle snowboard event in Calgary, Alta., Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

Teenage American snowboarder Oliver Martin swears he broke no laws Saturday in celebrating his first World Cup medal — a gold — in men’s snowboard slopestyle.

The legal drinking age in Alberta is 18, and 16-year-old Martin was doused with a bubbly beverage on the podium at Winsport’s Canada Olympic Park.

“It was apple cider — yeah, I checked,” he said during a break from signing autographs and posing for photos in the finish area.

“I feel amazing. I just couldn’t be more happy with the way it went today. It’s my first World Cup podium. So for it to be gold is just crazy.”

Following a strategic game plan, Martin delivered a clean, conservative performance for a first-run score of 80.60.

That proved good enough for gold, with big name after big name crashing as the course conditions deteriorated on a windy day in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains.

Gerard Redmond of the U.S. seized silver with 78.63 points. Norway’s Marcus Kleveland captured bronze with 75.65 points.

“I just decided to play it safe today,” said Martin, of Vail, Colo. “Just do the run that suits the conditions and suits what I feel capable of doing.”

Martin, who towers over most of his competitors at six foot one, planned to further celebrate his first World Cup victory with dinner at the revolving restaurant at the Calgary Tower.

Cameron Spalding, of Havelock, Ont., arrived in Calgary ranked No. 1 in the World Cup standings. Fellow Canadian Liam Brearley, of Gravenhurst, Ont., sat at No. 2.

On Saturday, both Spalding and Brearley spluttered in the slushy conditions with the temperature hovering around 8 C.

“The snow was definitely a bit better at the start when we were doing practice,” said Spalding, who finished 16th. “The wind picked up in the contest. The snow got a little bit softer, a little bit slower. It was a little bit hard to judge.

“You could make a bunch of excuses for not landing, but that’s just how it goes.”

Brearley, who placed 14th, echoed those sentiments.

“I’m definitely pretty bummed,” he said. “I don’t know. I thought I could have done pretty well if I had landed what I wanted to. But that’s how it goes sometimes.”

Mark McMorris of Regina finished 25th in his Thursday qualifying heat and did not advance. McMorris, 31, is a three-time Olympic bronze medallist and an 11-time Winter X Games gold medallist.

Truth Smith was the top Canadian on the men’s side on Saturday, finishing 13th for a personal best

“My parents’ names are Ben and Julie Smith,” the 20-year-old from Whistler, B.C., said of his unusual moniker. “They decided to help me out a little bit and named me Truth. I don’t know if it was a marketing scheme or what the plan was.

“I think my dad probably planned on it. He’s a shredder at heart. And my mom is also a shredder. I kind of came out of the womb on a snowboard.”

In women’s World Cup action Saturday morning, Japan’s Mari Fukada won slopestyle gold with 77.58 points. Annika Morgan, of Germany captured silver with 76.30 points and Mia Brookes, of Great Britain, claimed bronze with 74.08 points.

Laurie Blouin, of Stoneham, Que., placed eighth with 55.83 points. The 28-year-old won slopestyle silver at the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang and finished just off the slopestyle podium in fourth at Beijing 2022.

-- Vicki Hall

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 22, 2025.