Cassie Sharpe, a Comox native now living in Whistler, has been working hard to get her skiing back on track after a tough ankle injury ended her season last February in St. Moritz, Switzerland. Recently, Sharpe took third at a US Ski Association halfpipe skiing event in Sun Valley, Idaho. While not placing where she wanted to be, this is her third podium in a row.
In the past few weeks she has also earned two gold medals. The first gold was earned by taking top spot at the Aspen/Snowmass Freeskiing Open final in February. The 21-year-old beat out U.S. skiers for one of the biggest wins of her career and she claimed the $1,500 top prize. Sharpe won the AFP World Tour gold-level event by earning a score of 83.20.
Her second gold was gotten by winning the bronze-level Canadian Open Tour event in Moonstone, Ont. Sharpe has been skiing well since the calendar flipped to 2014, earning top-20 finishes at World Cup events in Calgary and Colorado in January. "I'm pretty happy about my season," Sharpe said. "My skiing's finally coming back since my injury ... I've definitely been working hard to be where I'm at now.
"It's good to get these events under my belt," she said. "I've been doing a lot of airbagging and practising to get some of the bigger tricks. A left corked 9 is what my next step's going to be, and I've got my back-to-back flairs back. I'm definitely working hard on catching up to those girls who competed in Sochi."
The 2018 Olympics are a long-term goal for Sharpe, and by winning the first major contest since the sport's Games debut, she's put herself on a good path toward Pyeongchang.
Cassie’s final competition of the season March 20-23 Canadian Ski Nationals at Calgary Olympic Park.