Winter Olympics:Canada's long wait for a home Olympic gold medal is over after freestyle skier Alex Bilodeau claimed victory in the men's moguls. Bilodeau won a gold medal at Cypress Mountain with a score of 26.75, ahead of Canadian-turned-Australian and defending champion Dale Begg-Smith who took silver with 26.58.
American Byron Wilson was third with 26.08.
Bilodeau's win ends an unfortunate hoodoo for Canada, who hosted the 1976 Olympics in Montreal and the 1998 Winter Olympics in Calgary without winning a gold medal in either Games.
And the victory, secured with the penultimate run of the evening, was made all the sweeter for the hosts as the 22-year-old displaced Vancouver-born Begg-Smith, who turned his back on his native country following a fall-out with the Canadian Freestyle Ski Association.
A jubilant Bilodeau vowed: "The party is just starting for Canada. There are so many good golds to come and I'll try to keep a bit of voice for them.
"It is too good to be true and I don't think I realise yet (what it means). At the top (of the course) I said 'I'm ready'. I went out and I knew what to do."
Bilodeau dedicated his gold to watching older brother Frederic, who suffers from cerebral palsy.
"My brother is my inspiration," he added. "He has grown up with a handicap that puts everything into perspective."
Begg-Smith, a self-made millionaire who switched his allegiances to Australia after a dispute over the amount of time he was spending on his internet business, looked like making Canada wait another day for a home gold when he led the standings with just Bilodeau and France's Guilbaut Colas still to descend.
But, by producing the fastest run of the competition after more or less matching Begg-Smith in scoring for his turns and jumps, the top prize was Bilodeau's.
-PA