I LOOOOOVE GOOOOOLD — Maelle Ricker awoke from a four-year nightmare Tuesday.

After crashing in the 2006 Olympic snowboard cross final in Turin, Ricker outraced everyone Tuesday to claim gold on Cypress Mountain.

Ricker, a North Vancouver native who now lives in Squamish, led the four-racer final from start to finish to become the first Canadian woman to win Olympic gold on home soil. After the race, she draped herself in a Canadian flag and smiled as thousands cheered her.

Deborah Anthonioz of France won silver and Olivia Nobs of Switzerland won bronze. Helene Olafson of Norway finished fourth, while favourite Lindsey Jacobellis of the United States finished fifth overall, after tripping up in the semifinals.

Though Ricker struggled in her first of two qualifying runs, she came through in her second attempt, finishing 1.02 seconds behind the leader, Mellie Francon of Switzerland, whose best time was 1:24.43.

Fog and warm temperatures caused havoc on the course, and the runs were temporarily halted as officials brought out the orange flag and checked out the condition of trouble spots.

Swiss rider Simona Meiler took two spills in her first run and ended up with a bloody lip after crashing into the retainer fence near the finish.

“It’s challenging because the snow is slushy. There are bumps and that makes it hard to keep your balance,” she said.

Dominique Maltais of Petite-Rievere-St-Francois, Que., who won the bronze medal in Turin, went off the course in her first qualifying run and didn’t register a time. She fell in her second qualifying run and didn’t make it into the quarter-finals.