Burke was with me on bronze-medal run: Lamarre

[February 11, 2014]  By Philip O'Connor

ROSA KHUTOR, Russia (Reuters) — Canadian slopestyle skier Kim Lamarre felt the presence of former teammate Sarah Burke on her bronze medal-winning run at the Sochi Games on Tuesday.

The IOC has banned athletes from wearing stickers in memory of Burke, who died in January 2012 following a training accident.

"She was with me today. I totally felt her. She's amazing and I'm happy to honor who she was by doing this today," Lamarre told Reuters.

"Before I dropped my last run in the final, I looked up to the sky and said `come on Sarah, we can do this together. Carry me through down'," said Lamarre, who scored 85 on her final run to claim the bronze for Canada.

Her teammate Dara Howell won gold after a superb first run, with American Devin Logan taking the silver medal.

Lamarre said the athletes were disappointed by the IOC decision to ban the stickers commemorating Burke, who is considered a pioneer in freestyle skiing.

"Of course, we would have loved to have our stickers. I made sure after every run to say 'Celebrate Sarah' in front of the camera," she said.

"We're definitely going to figure out a way that we can celebrate her without making the IOC unhappy."

(Editing by Ed Osmond)

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