CALGARY 鈥�
Bouncing back from a concussion that sidelined her for more than a year, Elizabeth Hosking served notice Friday of her intention to compete for a medal at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics.
Under the lights at Winsport鈥檚 Canada Olympic Park, Hosking, of Longueuil, Que., won bronze in women鈥檚 World Cup snowboard halfpipe.
The 23-year-old burst into tears in the finish area, burying her face in her hands.
鈥淚t鈥檚 incredible,鈥� she said, over the din of the home crowd. 鈥淭his whole year was a grind for me.
鈥淭his was the hardest year of my life.鈥�
Hosking, 23, loves taking risks at high elevations, while striving to make every trick look easy.
On her third-and final run Friday, she did just that for a score of 79.25.
鈥淛ust to be Canadian out here with all the energy 鈥� I could hear the crowd from up top,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 was really trying to block it out.鈥�
Sena Tomita, of Japan, won gold with 90.75 points. Maddie Mastro, of the United States, claimed silver with 85.25 points.
By reaching the podium, Mastro locked up the 2024-25 World Cup Crystal Globe as the overall points leader. Her American teammate Chloe Kim, ranked No. 2 in the world, did not compete in the Calgary event.
Prior to Friday, Hosking鈥檚 best finish of the year was ninth in the season-opener in China.
鈥淭o finish the season on the podium is really crazy,鈥� she said. 鈥淚鈥檓 really proud of myself.鈥�
That pride comes from knowing the depths of what she endured after suffering a concussion during training in the fall of 2023.
鈥淚nitially, I lost consciousness when it happened,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 spent a night in the hospital in Austria. So it was definitely a scare.鈥�
So many times, the concussion symptoms appeared to subside, only to come back again.
鈥淎ny other injury, you can see it,鈥� she said. 鈥淵ou can see a scan. You can see an X-Ray. You know what you鈥檙e dealing with and what鈥檚 going on.
鈥淏ut with the brain, it鈥檚 just day to day. It could be going really good. And then you do a test, and it鈥檚 like, 'Oh, we鈥檙e going down again.'鈥�
At age 16, Hosking was the youngest athlete on the Canadian Olympic team at the 2018 Winter Games in Pyeongchang. She finished 19th. Four years later, she soared to sixth place on the Olympic stage at Beijing 2022.
Next up, she hopes, is Milan-Cortina 2026 鈥� a destination that appeared out of reach on some of those dark days with no timeline for the concussion symptoms to finally subside.
鈥淚t was really, really hard having to be on the sidelines for a whole year,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut I guess knowing deep down what my goal is, that鈥檚 what I lived for.
鈥淎nd I think it really came true this season at that first competition in China. I was like, 'I鈥檓 home.鈥� That was the feeling I got, knowing all the hard work was worth it.鈥�
In men鈥檚 snowboard halfpipe Friday, Japan鈥檚 Ruka Hirano won gold with 93.00 points. Yuto Totsuka, of Japan, captured silver with 89.75 points. Alessandro Barbieri, of the United States, claimed bronze with 83.25 points.
World Cup snowboard action resumes Saturday at Winsport with men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 slopestyle.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 21, 2025.
Vicki Hall, The Canadian Press
