Ski Cross (SX) - Men's Finals @ Cypress Mountain - 13:15

WEST VANCOUVER, B.C. - In an emotional news conference after the Olympic ski-cross event at Cypress Mountain Sunday, Canada's Chris Del Bosco fought back tears and struggled to explain how he wound up fourth.

"I wanted to win," he said. "I know what I'm capable of, and I hold myself to a pretty high level. So I'm always, no matter what the race, going for first place."

As four skiers sped toward the finish line in the finals, Del Bosco appeared to have the bronze medal wrapped up. But he saw a chance to make a move for second, trimming a final turn a little too tight, going a bit too fast - and flew sideways into a snowy heap. Gold went to Michael Schmid of Switzerland. Andreas Matt of Austria took silver and Norway's Audun Groenvold earned the bronze.

Del Bosco's winning record made him a medal favourite going into the Games, but it was his ability to navigate death-defying turns and overcome alcohol and drug-fuelled obstacles in real life that made him the sentimental favourite, too.

Del Bosco grew up in a close-knit family in Vail, Colo., the son of an American mother and a Canadian father who earned a hockey scholarship to the University of Denver and remained in the United States.

The younger Del Bosco devoted himself to ski racing at 14 and eventually the party scene that came with it. He was stripped of two national titles - one in junior alpine racing and another in downhill mountain biking - after marijuana was discovered in his system. The U.S. alpine team decided he wasn't worth the trouble, and kicked him off the development team.

He was drinking every day by the fall of 2005, and when he went to Los Angeles to visit his older sister, Heather Centurioni, she was frightened by what she saw. Her smart, fit brother had no energy and extra weight; he walked the dog if it meant a trip to the liquor store.

"I just said, 'This is the end.' I'll find someplace. We're going tomorrow," she has said.

He emerged sober from a rehabilitation clinic 90 days later on New Year's Eve, and within weeks won a bronze medal at the X Games in the roller-derby-like sport of ski cross. Buoyed by the belief he could dabble and still succeed, he began partying again until, finally, he wound up in court on another charge of drinking and driving. He narrowly missed a year-long jail sentence - a lucky break that scared him into getting clean for good.

When the fledgling Canadian ski-cross team came calling - the team decided to take advantage of his dual citizenship despite his checkered past - his road to redemption had begun.

Cheering from the bleachers Sundaywere Del Bosco's parents, Armando and Pamela, along with Centurioni and his girlfriend, Ashleigh McIvor, a medal favourite in women's ski cross.

"I always thought [we'd be here]," his mother said before the final, wiping tears from under her shades. "I had hope and faith."

Ski cross, which made its Olympic debut Sunday, is known for its wild crashes and unpredictable finishes, and there was no shortage of surprises.

Davey Barr of Brackendale, B.C., wasn't supposed to race at all, but after two Canadian teammates suffered injuries he suddenly found himself on the start list on the eve of the event. His coach, Eric Archer altered a spare uniform, and Barr, who finished sixth, had the second-best Canadian finish.

At 37, Stanley Hayer of Calgary is an elder statesmen on the Canadian team, but perhaps the youngest at heart. He was favoured to win a medal, but was knocked out in the quarter-finals. His mother and fiancée stood in the crowd waving Hayer's favourite stuffed elephants.

"If I would've got through that round I think I would've really been fighting for that medal," he said afterward, clearly disappointed. "But you know, it's ski cross."

See the CTV Video - Click HERE.

View more photos of the event - click HERE.