2010 Memories, Day 2: Temperatures, slushy conditions hamper moguls competition
Credit to Author: Harrison Mooney| Date: Thu, 13 Feb 2020 14:00:53 +0000
Follow along as we look back at the moments that made headlines each day during the 2010 Winter Olympics.
Feb. 13, 2010: All eyes were on Alberta’s Jenn Heil on Day 2 of the Winter Games, as the Canadian freestyle skier competed to defend her 2006 Olympic gold medal in the women’s moguls event.
Heil was the heavy favourite, and Canadians were confident that she would soon deliver the country’s first gold on Canadian soil. But after her run at Cypress Mountain, which put her in first place with one skier to go, the Canadian could only watch as American Hannah Kearney bested her time. A visibly distraught Heil had to settle for silver.
There was a larger issue on the slopes, however: no snow. Unseasonably warm temperatures left Vancouver looking more like a Summer Olympic venue.
Cypress Mountain had no natural snow at all during the moguls competition, and organizers were forced to bring it in by the truckload. And slushy, sloppy conditions in Whistler threatened several events, including the men’s downhill competition — often considered the premier alpine event of the Winter Olympics. It was postponed for two days with the hope that the conditions would improve.
At the day’s end, many Canadians went to bed anxious that the winter weather, not to mention Olympic gold, might never come.