Grondin secures double gold, clinches first career Crystal Globe
For the first time in his career, Eliot Grondin is a Crystal Globe winner thanks to a dominant season in snowboard cross, taking two golds in two races to conclude the season.
Grondin secured the top spot in the World Cup standings for 2023-24 on Saturday, close to home at the FIS Snowboard Cross World Cup in Mont-Sainte-Anne, Quebec.
Winning gold on Saturday and adding another on Sunday, he claimed his sixth and seventh victories in 11 World Cup races this campaign. Shaking off some errors in the semifinals, Grondin pushed through an ankle injury to hold off Australia’s Cameron Bolton for the win in the final.
“A good start today but I made some small mistake in the semis,” Grondin said after his Sunday win. “I knew what to fix [and] went for [the win].
ÉLIOT GRONDIN
— CBC Olympics (@CBCOlympics) March 24, 2024
Another win for the Canadian in front of his home crowd on day two of racing at Mont-Sainte-Anne pic.twitter.com/XIYdE3Jw7w
The Quebec native grew up just an hour from where he was crowned World Cup champion for the first time.
“Winning at home is the best feeling. Winning in Europe is good, but winning in front of my family and my friends who support me is an incredible feeling,” said Grondin after the final.
On Saturday, Grondin raced to the top spot in the qualifying round, and in the final, finished in first place, beating out Bolton and Czech Republic’s Radek Houser.
With the podium placement, Grondin extended his medal streak to nine straight races. It was his sixth gold medal of the season, a new career-high, and a new men’s record on the snowboard cross World Cup circuit.
Countrymate Evan Bichon finished in fourth on Saturday.
READ: Grondin tops podium at World Cup in St. Moritz
Grondin’s double gold is icing on the cake for the 22-year-old, as he maintained a sizeable lead in the standings throughout the season. He now has a distance of 364 points between him and second place, Alessandro Haemmerle of Austria.