Kaylie Buck of Oakville, Ontario has won her first World Cup medal in women’s parallel giant slalom snowboarding. The medal was significant because it came on the Olympic course in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy.
Buck lost the big final to Sabine Payer of Austria. Buck had a time of 1:17.35. Payer had a time of 1:15.99. Zuzana Maderova of the Czech Republic won the bronze medal as she won the small final. Buck defeated fellow Canadian and three-time junior world champion Aurelie Moisan of Montreal, Quebec in the first heat of classifications, Claudia Riegler of Austria in the first quarterfinal heat and Jasmine Coratti of Italy in the first semifinal heat.
In the World Cup women’s parallel giant slalom snowboarding standings, Buck is in eighth place after three events with 89 points. Payer leads with 196 points. The second place finish for Buck could be considered a big surprise in the snowboarding world. That is because she finished 23rd and 30th in Mylin, China just a week ago, and was only 13th in qualification during the Cortina d’Ampezzo World Cup. Furthermore, in Buck’s career, she has had zero top 10 finishes in women’s parallel giant slalom snowboarding. The next women’s World Cup parallel giant slalom snowboarding event is in Carezza, Italy on December 18.