Grandparents killed in wrong-way crash on Hwy. 401 identified
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
Austrians took advantage of their early starts to finish first and second in the season-opening men's World Cup downhill in Lake Louise, Alta., on Saturday.
Matthias Mayer won for the second time in four years at the ski resort west of Calgary, followed by teammate Vincent Kriechmayr in second.
Mayer was the seventh man to push out of the start hut and Kriechmayr was the first.
"Of course, I'm very satisfied," Mayer said. "It's the first race of the season. I know that I had some good work in summer. Not only me. Also, Vincent had good work this summer. As a team, we are in very good shape."
Mayer posted a winning time of one minute 47.74 seconds with Kriechmayr crossing the line in 1:47.97.
"All in all, a really good run," Kriechmayr said. "Matthias was amazing today and he was the right winner for this race."
Defending World Cup downhill champion Beat Feuz of Switzerland had drawn a No. 5 start bib and finished third behind the Austrians in 1:48.09.
Mayer also won the men's downhill in 2018. Last year's World Cup at the ski resort west of Calgary was cancelled because of COVID-19.
Toronto's Jack Crawford was the top Canadian in 24th. The 24-year-old held a No. 52 start bib, and raced a bumpy course in dimming light to earn World Cup points among the top 30 finishers.
About 40 centimetres of snowfall in a 24-hour period forced the cancellation of Friday's downhill. Course workers worked feverishly early Saturday to shift snow and groom the course for a noon start local time.
"They did really good work on the slope today," Mayer said. "It was good skiing today and it was World Cup conditions."
Early starters had the advantage of a more pristine track and better visibility, however, as cloud descended onto the top of the mountain throughout the afternoon.
"I think it was very important because the snow was getting bumpier from number to number," Mayer said. "Starting number seven, I think I was in a good (place) and Vincent and Beat also started in front of me. I saw Vince's run. It was really good."
There's stiff competition within the deep men's Austrian team to represent their country in February's Winter Olympics in Beijing.
Both Mayer and Kriechmayr got a head start on that task Saturday.
"We have so many races still," Kriechmayr said. "I want to show my best skiing every time, every race. That's my goal for the season."
The top 30 finishers earn points for rankings, which gives them more advantageous start numbers in future races.
They also get a piece of the race's prize money totalling 120,000 Swiss francs (C$163,000). Mayer earned 45,000 Swiss francs for the win Saturday.
No member of Canada's young downhill team had a start number within the top 30 for Saturday's downhill, although Crawford and Brodie Seger of Whistler, B.C., are ranked in the top 30 for Sunday's super-G.
Crawford finished in the downhill points for just the second time in his career.
"It was definitely a hard day," Crawford said. "The light was flat and the new snow made it a little bit inconsistent, so starting later in the pack, there were some pretty big holes.
"I managed to watch a few guys who were starting just ahead of me, which helped me create a plan on the fly to deal with all of that changing environment and the holes down the course.
"I'm happy with today with how the conditions were. I was definitely hoping for better. You always are, but with how I skied today, I'm quite satisfied with the overall result."
Seger finished just outside the points in 31st in a field of 65 racers.
"I'm not going for 30th places this season," Seger said. "I want to be a lot deeper than that."
Jeffrey Read of Canmore, Alta., placed 39th, Broderick Thompson of Whistler, B.C., was 49th and Ben Thomsen of Invermere, B.C., finished 54th.
"It's really too bad we didn't have a second downhill here because that would be a good opportunity for redemption," Read said.
Cameron Alexander of North Vancouver, B.C., nearly crashed, but recovered to cross the line in 58th.
The women arrive in Alberta next week for two downhills and a super-G at the resort in Banff National Park.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 27, 2021.
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
Three people have been arrested and charged in the killing of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar – as authorities continue investigating potential connections to the Indian government.
Pius Suter scored with 1:39 left and the Vancouver Canucks advanced to the second round of the NHL playoffs with a 1-0 victory over the Nashville Predators on Friday night in Game 6.
TD Bank Group could be hit with more severe penalties than previously expected, says a banking analyst after a report that the investigation it faces in the U.S. is tied to laundering illicit fentanyl profits.
A Quebec man who pleaded guilty to threatening Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier François Legault has been sentenced to 20 months in jail.
RCMP say human remains found in a rural area in central Saskatchewan may have been there for a decade or more.
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.
As Wegovy becomes available to Canadians starting Monday, a medical expert is cautioning patients wanting to use the drug to lose weight that no medication is a ''magic bullet,' and the new medication is meant particularly for people who meet certain criteria related to obesity and weight.
Drew Carey took over as host of 'The Price Is Right' and hopes he’s there for life. 'I'm not going anywhere,' he told 'Entertainment Tonight' of the job he took over from longtime host Bob Barker in 2007.
Alberta Ballet's double-bill production of 'Der Wolf' and 'The Rite of Spring' marks not only its final show of the season, but the last production for twin sisters Alexandra and Jennifer Gibson.
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
A group of SaskPower workers recently received special recognition at the legislature – for their efforts in repairing one of Saskatchewan's largest power plants after it was knocked offline for months following a serious flood last summer.
A police officer on Montreal's South Shore anonymously donated a kidney that wound up drastically changing the life of a schoolteacher living on dialysis.
Since 1932, Montreal's Henri Henri has been filled to the brim with every possible kind of hat, from newsboy caps to feathered fedoras.
Police in Oak Bay, B.C., had to close a stretch of road Sunday to help an elephant seal named Emerson get safely back into the water.
Out of more than 9,000 entries from over 2,000 breweries in 50 countries, a handful of B.C. brews landed on the podium at the World Beer Cup this week.
Raneem, 10, lives with a neurological condition and liver disease and needs Cholbam, a medication, for a longer and healthier life.