The entire country watched Monday night, as Comoxѻýs Cassie Sharpe laid down the top two runs of the entire competition to win the ladiesѻý ski halfpipe gold medal at the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
The reaction on social media was immediate, and vast.
From celebrities and fellow Olympians, to the prime minister himself, the congratulatory shout-outs were making the rounds all night.
Itѻýs not often that anyone is recognized by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau:
Another gold for Team Canada and a first in womenѻýs ski halfpipe! Congratulations .
ѻý Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau)
But the PM himself was ѻýout-cooled,ѻý when Ryan Reynolds expressed his Canadian pride.
Go !!@CassieSharpe is a legend ѻý makinѻý it look easy. And thank you & for agreeing to raise my children as your own.🇨🇦
ѻý Ryan Reynolds (@VancityReynolds)
The Reynolds tweet grabbed the attention of the champion herself:
This is ѻýalmostѻý as good as winning gold today!!!! Thank you 👏🏼🏆
ѻý Cassie Sharpe (@CassieSharpe)
And there was reaction from the hill as well. Two-time Canadian Olympian Perdita Felicien posted a video of Cassieѻýs parents, Chantal and Don, the moment the gold medal was won.
Closer to home, the excitement flowed, with viewing parties at private homes and local eating establishments throughout the Comox Valley.
ѻýI think we all watched it with a bit of nervousnessѻý but it was a great result and certainly something that we are all really proud of,ѻý said Comox Mayor Paul Ives.
Cassie has been recognized by the Town of Comox on previous occasions. She was a recipient of the Ray Crossley Youth Achievement Award in 2012.
ѻýItѻýs pretty cool to see that,ѻý said Ives. ѻýA lot of those young people have gone on to bigger and better things as time goes on, but I think this is the first time we have ever seen someone win [an Olympic] gold medal.ѻý
Where does it rank all-time in regards to individual achievements for a Comox athlete?
ѻýWell, a few years ago, we had some Olympic athletes from the past honoured; people like Susan Kelsey (swimming, Montreal 1976 ѻý bronze medal 4x100m medley relay), I think Tom Hershmiller was another one (rowing, Athens 2004 ѻý silver medal in coxless four; Sydney 2000 ѻý seventh coxed eight), but certainly in recent memory, I think this is one of the biggest accomplishments we have seen.ѻý
Ives said the Town will discuss options to officially recognize Sharpe at some point, once scheduling and availability is worked out.