The outstanding season for aerialist Steve Omischl continued with a silver medal in FIS Freestyle World Cup action Sunday. Omischl made his sixth podium appearance in seven starts while eyeing the third overall World Cup men’s aerials title of his career. Omischl, 29, led after the first round of jumps. But he was overtaken when Anton Kushnir of Belarus nailed his second jump, a quad-twisting triple somersault.
Steve Omischl
The Belarusian, who sits second in this season’s overall standings to Omischl, scored 249.31 for his two jumps. Omischl was second with 242.56, while Ryan St. Onge of the United States finished third in 241.87, with his first podium performance of the season.
“I’m a little bit disappointed, given my results of the past few weeks,” said Omischl, who has four wins, one second and one third, to lead the overall standings with 569 points.
Omischl had a huge first jump, a quad-twisting triple, to score 129.65 points. But he had a little trouble on his second jump, a triple-twisting triple somersault, for only the seventh-ranked jump of that round.
“It was one of my best jumps, but I was just a little forward,” he explained. “I didn’t sell my landing very well. I was a little bit too heavy and it was a little bit softer than I anticipated.”
Unlike the controversy surrounding the difficult moguls’ course Saturday, Omischl said the aerials site will be very suitable for the 2009 World Championships. “It’s a very fair site for aerials. It’s probably the best venue we’ve jumped at all year. The moguls’ course is a different story.”
The only other Canadian male competing, Warren Shouldice of Calgary, was 15th.
In women’s aerials, Jacqui Cooper of Australia won her fifth World Cup of the season and 24th of her career in a tight battle with Alla Tsuper of Belarus. Cooper prevailed 205.46 to 203.73, leaving Nina Li of China third in 192.28.
Amber Peterson was fourth, the second best placing in her World Cup career, with a score of 165.81. “I’m pretty happy about it,” said Peterson, 25, in her last World Cup of the year. “There were strong headwinds, but thankfully it was pretty consistent,” said Peterson, who will skip the last two World Cups in Europe to train at Quebec’s Mont Gabriel in the lead-up to the season-ending National Championships.
“My landings are coming,” said Peterson, after performing her first triple-twisting double somersault in about two years. “They’ve always been something I’ve struggled with, but I’m making them better and better.”
Deidra Dionne of Red Deer, Alta., who’s back competing after a nearly two-year layoff, was sixth in 156.03. Veronika Bauer of Toronto finished eighth.
