Gold

Published February 15, 2010 by:

Tina Molly Lang of Associated Content

Canadian Alexandre Bilodeau dedicated his Olympic gold medal to his brother, Frederic, who has cerebral palsy.



Alexandre Bilodeau won with a score of 26.75 on the men's mogul, narrowly edging out defending champion Dale Begg-Smith (26.58). American Bryon Wilson earned a surprise bronze medal with a score of 26.08 (as reported by Washington Post).

Alexandre Bilodeau has won the first Olympic gold medal on home territory. On Saturday, Canadian Jenn Heil had just missed the gold medal after being edged out by American Hannah Kearney in the women's mogul.

And figure skating enthusiasts likely remember the 1988 Olympics in Calgary where American Brian Boitano narrowly won the men's gold medal over Canadian Brian Orser. After the close calls with Heil and Orser, the home crowd was finally able to witness an Olympic gold medal performance.

Dale Begg-Smith had a tight and clean performance, though Bilodeau and Wilson had more difficult elements in their runs. Had Begg-Smith won the gold instead of Bilodeau, it would likely have been a slap in the face to the partisan home crowd. Dale Begg-Smith is a Vancouver native. However, he has dual citizenship and was representing Australia at the Olympics.

After his run, Alexandre Bilodeau kept talking about how he won this for Frederic, his brother. He credits his brother's influence for contributing to his success in the men's mogul.

As Bilodeau told the Toronto Star, "I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have the same perseverance if I didn't grow up with him. I'm someone who never quits, even in training. I'm going to fight until the last moment, until I crash really bad."

Whenever Alexandre struggled with the ins and outs of competition, he would ask himself what his brother would have done in the same situation. Having a brother in a wheelchair must have given him a sense of perspective. Even in the most rigorous moments of training and practice, he could always remind himself that his brother would never have even had the opportunity to do what he was doing.

MedLine Plus defines cerebral palsy as a "condition, sometimes thought of as a group of disorders that can involve brain and nervous system functions such as movement, learning, hearing, seeing, and thinking."

According to CerebralPalsy.Org, an estimated 800,000 Americans have cerebral palsy. And about 10,000 babies in the US will develop cerebral palsy every year.

Yet while Frederic may have limitations, it doesn't affect his ability to be a big brother to Alexandre. As his coach told Toronto Star, "He's smart. He's just slowed down. But he's been pushing Alex and keeps him also on the ground. I really believe that the calm we're seeing in Alex, a bit of the serenity comes from that."