Alexandre Bilodeau: I've started the Canadian gold rush

 ALEXANDRE Bilodeau insists he has sparked the Canadian gold rush after the freestyle skier carved himself a slice of Olympic history with moguls victory at Cypress Mountain.

STANDING TALL: Alexandre Bilodeau is a happy man after breaking Canada's curse of failing to win a gold medal at a home Olympics (Getty Images)

Bilodeau produced an awe-inspiring display on Sunday to snatch gold from defending champion Dale Begg-Smith, paying little respect for gravitational laws and even less for the so-called Canadian Olympic curse.

The 22-year-old chalked up 26.75 points for his fearless demonstration of speed and balance to end 34 barren years in which Canada have had the unsavoury record of failing to win a single Olympic gold medal on home soil.

Fellow moguls skier Jennifer Heil was tipped to be the one to break the spell 24 hours previously but she had to settle for silver, handing Bilodeau the opportunity to right his country's Olympic wrongs - a chance he seized with both hands.

"It's great starting the gold medal collection for Canada and I'll be cheering for all the Canadians to win Gold in the next couple of days," said Bilodeau.

"But there will be more to come, it's just starting for Canada.

"I had my chance, I took it and now I belong to history. I don't think I realise it yet, but I belong to history.

"And now I just hope the kids are inspired, just like I was inspired by Jean-Luc Brassard, when he won moguls gold at Lillehammer 1994."

Had Bilodeau failed to get the better of defending champion Begg-Smith, Canada would have been left with mixed feelings.

Begg-Smith competes in the gold and green of Australia but having been born in Vancouver, he received almost as warm a reception as the Canadian athletes in Cypress Mountain.

And Begg-Smith admitted he was pleased to be passing the Olympic crown on to a Canadian.

"I ski the way I want to ski, that's all I can control. I had a lot of good runs today. I skied as well as I could," he added.

"For everyone out there it was special, there was no favouritism.

"I think it's great that Canada won. The crowd was happy. They went crazy."

AS IT HAPPENS: Day three of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver

IN PICTURES: The men's freestyle skiing moguls at Cypress Mountain