The Canadian snowboard team saw two of its athletes step on the World Championship podium, including a victory by Jasey-Jay Anderson and a bronze for Ontario's Matthew Morison, in Parallel Giant Slalom at the 2009 FIS World Snowboard Championships Tuesday in Gangwon, Korea...

With the crowning of Jasey-Jay Anderson (Mont-Tremblant, QC) coupled with a bronze medal by Matthew Morison (Burketon, ON), this is the first time in history that Canada puts two of its athletes on the same podium at a World Championship event

“I would first like to thank the coaches and the staff that is here with us and through the years. They leave their families at home to come here and help us athletes do whatever we do. They sacrifice as much if not more than we athletes do to get the hardware,” gracefully commented Anderson.

Anderson started the day very well, finishing first of the qualifying round to advance in the finals. Throughout the day, the 33-year old snowboarder battled through four rounds of two runs to win the title, including a tough semi-final against teammate Morison.

“The variety of terrain that we have here makes it very fun to race, even in the rough course conditions we faced. There is clear talent that needs to be used to get through the course, not once but eight times to win the gold medal,” said the 16-year veteran on the Canadian snowboard team and married father of two little girls.

“For me, the pas 15 years of experience came into play today. My old body is still taken care of me, but in the end it was a fun day and hopefully we put on a big show,” continued Anderson while celebrating his fourth official FIS World Snowboard Championships title.

Anderson’s long day finally came to an end as he defeated French rider Sylvain Dufour who took home the silver medal.

“Although not expected, the goal was definitely to win today. Qualifying to the team selection process for the Olympic Games is a big relief off my shoulder,”

The World Championship victory gives Anderson a spot on the Canadian snowboard team competing at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games. In accordance with Canadian Snowboard Federation policy, a win at the FIS World Snowboard Championships translates into an automatic berth in the priority rankings for the Canadian team selection for the Games in Vancouver.

Morison, a young member of the Canadian snowboard team and rising star, barely made it through the qualifiers but continually improved his racing as the day progressed to finally compete for the bronze medal race.

“It was awesome today. I was really happy today. Everybody on the team rode well. We had three guys in the finals, and almost had four with pat just missing the cut. To be able to ride so well at the World Championships proves that we are ready to compete at major events, and be contenders for the victory,” said Morison.

Ranked 13th after qualifications, Morison easily breezed through the initial round to face long-time training partner Michael Lambert in the quarter-finals. Morison edge Lambert in the two-run contest by only 0.94 seconds to advance in the semi-finals only to lose to yet another team-mate and world champion in Anderson.

In the bronze medal match-up, Morison easily defeated Karl Benjamin of Austria to win the medal.

Along with the gold and bronze medals by Anderson and Morison, Michael Lambert (Toronto, ON) came in 8th place after losing to Morison in the quarterfinals.

On the women side, Caroline Calve (Aylmer, QC) was the top Canadian finishing in 11th place. Team veteran Alexa Loo (Richmond, BC) placed 12th while Kimiko Zakreski (Calgary, AB) and Ekatarina Zavialova (Calgary, AB) came in 32nd and 38th respectively.

“I am really pleased about the result as it has now been nine months since I had my reconstructive knee surgery, I was really looking to come out a start racing back on the tour, especially here since we have raced three times on the track prior to the World Championships,” said Calve after the race.

“To have such a good result today means a lot, especially since this is not a track where I can perform at my best. Today I was able to block out every single thing out of my head and stay really calm all day long,” continued Calve.

The big final round saw two Austrian compete for the Gold medal. Mario Kreiner edged her teammate Doris Guenther in the head to head race for the world championships title. Swiss Patrizia Kummer won the bronze medal match-up.

Here's more on the Korean course: