Mikaël Kingsbury of Deux-Montagnes, Que., took home his first FIS World Cup medal today and Jenn Heil of Spruce Grove, Alta., along with teammate Kristi Richards from Summerland, B.C. added to the Canadian coffers with a two, three finish.
Kristi Richards, Mikael Kingsbury and Jenn Heil celebrate in Ruka!
In men’s moguls, Kingsbury posted the best air points of the finals, which earned him the silver medal with a score of 24.89. Patrick Deneen of the U.S. was first at 25.23 and Guilbaut Colas of France was third at 24.78.
At only 18, last season’s FIS Rookie of the Year, Kingsbury pulled off a double full at the top of the course and a cork 1080 on the bottom air. He said, “Everything went really well on the run and I didn’t make any mistakes today. I feel fast and strong in the moguls. I’m so happy; you’ve never seen a smile this big on my face. I’ve been waiting to win a World Cup medal since I was eight years old watching the World Cup at Tremblant.”
Cédric Rochon of Saint-Sauveur, Que. was the next Canadian, in 5th at 23.99, Olympic Champion Alex Bilodeau finished the day in seventh spot with a score of 23.55.
On the women’s side, Jenn Heil at 24.02 was narrowly edged out of first by 2010 Olympic Champion Hannah Kearney of the U.S. at 24.09. Richards was third with 23.52.
Heil, the five-time Crystal Globe winner who now makes Montreal her home said, “It’s always great to be at the first World Cup of the season and to get back into the rhythm. I had a breakthrough on my skis at a training camp earlier in the season and I could feel it today, although I wasn’t skiing at my full limit. Now it’s time to charge it up for next week’s contest in France.”
For her part, Richards was very excited to stand on the podium next to her teammate. “I was so happy to be up there with Jenn. It was just so nice to start the season with all the Canadians doing so well, it was a great feeling for all the team,” she said, referring to the fact that five Canadian women made it to today’s 16-women final.
Richards said she had a difficult week and had to manage the emotions of her 20th place finish at the Vancouver Games, “It’s been an interesting time for me, there have been a lot of emotions from the Games, and I’ve had to face them and overcome them by trying to simplify things – feeling wind on my face, snow under my skis, and by being patient on my jumps.”
The other big Canadian story of the day was 16-year-old Justine Dufour-Lapointe’s amazing 5th place finish in her first-ever World Cup appearance.
Canadian Mogul Coach Darcy Downs said today’s three medals, and the fact that five men and five women made finals bodes well for the rest of the season. He said, “We have awesome moguls depth in Canada that’s coming up strong and it sure makes me proud. The whole coaching team is really stoked today.”
The team next competes in Meribel, France on Wednesday.
Full results:
Ladies Moguls Final, December 11, 2010
1. Hannah Kearney – USA (24.09); 2. Jenn Heil — Spruce Grove, Alta. and Montreal, Que .(24.02); 3. Kristi Richards – Summerland, B.C. (23.52); 4. Eliza Outtrim – USA (22.97); 5. Justine Dufour-Lapointe – Montreal, Que. (22.76); 6. Audrey Robichaud — Quebec City (22.74); 7. Yulia Gaysheva – KAZ (22.68); 8. Maxime Dufour-Lapointe – Montreal, Que. (22.56); 9. Regina Rakhimova – RUS (22.53); 10. Heidi Kloser – USA (22.39); 11.Ekaterina Stolyarova – RUS (22.30); 12. Deborah Scanzio – ITA (22.11); 13. Heather McPhie – USA (22.10), 14. Nikola Sudova – CZE (21.47); 15. Chelsea Henitiuk, Whistler B.C. (21.22); 16. Miki Ito – JPN (20.97).
Men’s Moguls Final, December 11, 2010
1. Patrick Deneen – USA (25.23); 2. Mikael Kingsbury – Deux Montagnes, Que. (24.89); 3. Guilbaut Colas – FRA (24.78); 4. Dimitriy Reiherd – KAZ (24.61); 5. Cedric Rochon – Saint Sauveur, Que. (23.99); 6. Dale Begg-Smith – AUS (23.81); 7. Alex Bilodeau – Rosemere, Que. (23.55); 8. Alexandr Smyshlyaev – RUS (23.53); 9. Arttu Kiramo – FIN (23.53); 10. Pierre-Alexandre Rousseau – Drummondville, Que. (23.31); 11. Sergey Volkov – RUS (23.22); 12. Nobuyuki Nishi – JPN (23.08); 13. Eddie Hicks — Langley, B.C. (22.70); 14. Jeremy Cota – USA (22.68); 15. Denis Dolgodvorov – RUS (22.52); 16. Sho Endo – JPN (22.08)
