Cassie's conquest a tribute to Burke

After soaring to gold, Sharpe hails late pioneer of halfpipe acrobatics

PYEONGCHANG - Cassie Sharpe wears a mouth guard with a gold tooth painted in the middle and raps to herself just before she drops into the halfpipe, the bars of hip-hop group M.O.P.'s hit Ante Up buzzing through the Canadian freestyle skier's head.

The ritual calms her down and pumps her up at the same time - one that ended with a dazzling show in the Olympic finals on Tuesday, as the 25-year-old picked up the torch left by the late Canadian star Sarah Burke and carried it into the future.