Canadian snowboarder Elizabeth Hosking wins World Cup gold in Calgary

Elizabeth Hosking became the first Canadian snowboarder to win a women's World Cup halfpipe on home snow Saturday evening.

The 24-year-old from Longueuil, Que., also earned her first career World Cup victory.

Hosking's score of 82.5 points on her first of two runs stood up for the win under the lights in WinSport's superpipe in Calgary.

"This is so, so crazy," Hosking said. "To get a World Cup win is insane. Doing it on home soil is such a special feeling."

Quebec's Elizabeth Hosking wins snowboard halfpipe in Calgary for 1st-ever World Cup title

Hosking's attempt to improve her score on her second pass was thwarted by a fall. She waited for two more women to finish before she slapped her gloves to her helmet in celebration.

"You never know what the girls are going to throw down," Hosking said. "For sure, going into that second run, I wanted to better my score to solidify. Unfortunately couldn't do that, I fell, so going to have to work on that for sure.

"Knowing that I was on the podium was special, but not knowing if I could stay in first was definitely some different nerves I've never felt before."

Hosking finished third in Calgary last year after missing a full season with a concussion suffered during off-season training in 2023.

"Now this year, it's just getting my feet under me and building that confidence going into the Olympics," said Hosking, who won a silver medal at the 2023 world championship.

Elizabeth Hosking reflects on her 'crazy' victory in Calgary

Shaotong Wu of China was second Saturday with a score of 77.25. Isabelle Loetscher of Switzerland was third with 76.

Hosking solidified her victory with a front-side 900 (two-and-a-half rotations) for her final element of her first pass down the 160-metre long