Historic ski jump bronze medal has families back in Canada jumping with joy

Rod Strate cried tears of joy in the early hours of Monday morning as he watched his daughter make history at the Beijing Winter Olympics.

The team also won Canada's first medal ever in the sport, nearly 100 years after its debut.

"There's not a lot of tears left in me or the rest of my family," Rod Strate said in a phone interview from his home in Calgary, hours after the historic win.

"We're all super, super excited. Couldn't be happier for Abi and her team."

WATCH | Canada secures first-ever ski jumping medal at Olympics:

Rod Strate said he's overwhelmed with pride for his daughter, who got her start in ski jumping at the age of six and has persisted with the sport ever since, despite multiple injuries as well as a lack of ski jumping facilities to train at in Canada.

The only thing that could've made the victory better, he said, was if he could've been there in person to cheer his daughter on from the sidelines.

"I get it, we're in a global pandemic, but I really would have liked to have gone to see her," Rod Strate added.

Surprise from MOM ❤️<br><br>Canadian ski jumper Alexandria Loutitt's mother made an appearance to congratulate her daughter after a historic bronze medal win for <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TeamCanada?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TeamCanada</a> in mixed team ski jumping <a href="https://t.co/n15EBR5UA1">pic.twitter.com/n15EBR5UA1</a>

On Vancouver Island, Laura Boyd-Clowes and her partner woke up in the middle of the night to watch her brother Mackenzie, who has been ski jumping since he was seven, compete. He secured the bronze on Canada's final jump, travelling 101.5 metres and scoring 128.1 points.

"It's just incredible," Laura Boyd-Clowes said.

"It's really been his whole life and