Roz Groenewoud won the FIS World Championships in 2011 and is the defending champion for tonight's X-Games competition which will be shown on TSN2 in Canada (10:30pm EST).
I was lucky enough to see Roz in action at the Dew Tour last month where she placed third in the freeski superpipe competition.
Roz may not be a household name in Canada yet, but with Target stores opening across the country in 2013 and with Roz being the first Canadian for them to sponsor, we will be hearing and seeing more of Roz leading into the 2014 Winter Olympics.
The Dew Tour was the first event for Canada's athletes' quest to make the Canadian Olympic team. Two podiums at five designated events (plus a top 16 at the World Championships or Sochi Test Event) will give an athlete early qualification so that during the Olympic season, they can concentrate on peaking at the Games instead of on qualifying.
With Roz earning a podium result at the Dew Tour, another at the X-Games tonight will almost guarantee that she will be in Sochi competing for the first gold medal in her sport.
Another Canadian in the competition was Keltie Hansen. She is also competing at the X Games and will be looking to join Team Canada at the 2014 Winter Olympics.
I was lucky enough to see Roz in action at the Dew Tour last month where she placed third in the freeski superpipe competition.
Roz may not be a household name in Canada yet, but with Target stores opening across the country in 2013 and with Roz being the first Canadian for them to sponsor, we will be hearing and seeing more of Roz leading into the 2014 Winter Olympics.
The Dew Tour was the first event for Canada's athletes' quest to make the Canadian Olympic team. Two podiums at five designated events (plus a top 16 at the World Championships or Sochi Test Event) will give an athlete early qualification so that during the Olympic season, they can concentrate on peaking at the Games instead of on qualifying.
With Roz earning a podium result at the Dew Tour, another at the X-Games tonight will almost guarantee that she will be in Sochi competing for the first gold medal in her sport.
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| The Sarah sticker on Roz's helmet is a constant reminder of Sarah Burke's legacy to the sport. |
Another Canadian in the competition was Keltie Hansen. She is also competing at the X Games and will be looking to join Team Canada at the 2014 Winter Olympics.
Freeski superpipe was Sarah Burke's specialty. Roz being seven years younger than Sarah grew up idolizing her and was coached by her at summer camp. In 2011 at the X Games, they shared a podium with Sarah winning and Roz in third. A few months later, she would beat Sarah at the FIS World Championships.
Last year, a week after Sarah died, Roz Groenewoud won the Superpipe competition at the X Games dedicating her win to Sarah.
Sarah was the pioneer who grew the sport and fought for it to be included at the X-Games (for women) and in the Olympics. Many assumed that Sarah would be the gold medal winner in Sochi but that was not her fate. She opened the door so that others could walk through and shine. Look out for Roz Groenewoud to shine in 2014.
Here's the video of her Dew Tour run.
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