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By Siofan Davies
 Hometeam advantage rarely counts in halfpipe, especially Olympic competition, still, proud Canadians that we are we had high hopes for Sarah Conrad, Mercedes Nicoll and Olympic rookie Palmer Taylor. Yet, rather than focus on the podium (I know, I know, that’s who gets the medals, there’s no participation medal), when compared to Torino four years ago, Canada is definitely moving up in Olympic Halfpipe standing.
At the 2006 Olympic Games, Conrad had our best finish of 15th place, with Nicolls at 27th, neither making it to finals. (If you don’t remember, the third member of the Women’s halfpipe team was this year’s snowboard cross winner Maëlle Ricker, she placed 23rd in Torino.)
Nicoll, 26, was the only Canadian woman to make it into the finals this year, based on the strength of some impressive spins in the semifinals. However, once she came into the finals, her 540s and 720s would not be enough for a podium finish, when pitted against the height and style of Torah Bright doing similar spins or Kelly Clark’s 900. However, with her sixth place standing, she still gave her hometown something to cheer about, and Canada it’s second-best ever placing in Women’s pipe at the Olympics (Ricker got 5th at Nagano in 1998).
Conrad had a strong second run in qualifiers, advancing her to semis but in both her runs she ran into problems, first with her backside 7, and then in a second run she was smooth until she went down at the end attempting a 9. But at only 24, Conrad certainly has another Olympics in her should she choose to continue to make pipe her focus.
What will really be interesting to see is the growth that 17-year-old Palmer Taylor goes through in the next four years. Bright’s poor placing at Torino was the driving force in her training for Vancouver, and now that Taylor has had a taste for Olympic competition, she can use this in her training. While she came in 26th place, the next four years could make a huge difference in where she stands in Russia in 2014.
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