Having already claimed two medals in freestyle skiing at the BC Winter Games, Todd Heard was surprised to find out he was getting a third.
Heard won silver medals in the slopestyle and moguls events, then found out after returning home to Duncan that he would also receive the all-around gold medal.
"I didn't know they were giving out medals for it," he said.
Freestyle was held at Hemlock Valley Resort, an hour and a half outside of the Games base in Mission. Heard's Games included a day of training, a day of moguls and a day of slopestyle.
In both events, only the best run of two counted, which Heard used to his benefit. He fell on his first run in moguls, but managed a great recovery.
"My second run was great," he said. It was a similar story in slopestyle. "My first run I didn't do well," he recalled. "I didn't have enough speed, and on the first jump I went over and cased, so in my second run I changed things up. It was pretty hard to get in a good run. Nobody was making any of the jumps, so I decided to try the other line."
Prior to the BC Winter Games, Heard had just competed at an event in Ontario where he placed ninth in slopestyle among 65 competitors of all ages. After the
Games, he was off to Silverstar for the third stop on the Timber Tour, where he has already experienced success this year. This coming weekend, he will head to junior nationals in Quebec, and in April, the Timber Tour will wrap up at his home base of Mt. Washington.
Freestyle accounted for 11 of Canada's 25 medals in Sochi, and Heard would love to be part of future success at that level. He knows just what it will take, too.
"Hard work," he said. "Lots of training."