Kearney Ends Record Season with Win at World Cup Moguls in Norway
World Cup Overall champion Hannah Kearney (Norwich, VT) capped her season by winning Sunday’s World Cup dual moguls in Myrkdalen-Voss, Norway. It was the ninth win for Kearney in what was a record season as she took both the moguls and overall FIS Freestyle World Cup crowns.
Joining Kearney on Sunday’s podium were Canadians Jenn Heil in second and Justine Dufour-LaPointe third. The men’s podium was Guilbaut Colas of France on top, with Canadians Mikael Kingsbury second and Alexandre Bilodeau third.
"It feels incredible," explained Kearney. "I should set more goals. I wanted to win both the moguls and the overall but I didn’t know I was going to do it by winning nine events. It is really, really satisfying."
The site of the 2013 World Championships, Voss provided a challenging course for Sunday’s duals. Warm air and high humidity meant snow conditions were constantly changing. Many heats were not decided by the judges, but by which skier could just finish the course.
For the World Cup Moguls Finals, the top ranked skiers dual it out on the moguls course in single elimination competition. There are no qualification runs with pairings based on the skiers’ overall rankings. The U.S. was represented Sunday by five women and five men.
In the women’s competition, only Kearney and teammate Heather McPhie (Bozeman, MT) moved passed the first heat. McPhie was edged out in her quarterfinal heat, while Kearney blitzed her quarterfinal and semifinal opponents to set up an epic final dual.
Like a scripted move, it seemed fated for the World Cup Finals to enjoy a matchup as strong as Sunday’s. Kearney faced off against rival Heil in the day’s final dual.
"The course was more difficult after each run," said Kearney. "Everyone but one person blew out while skiing against me. That was the theme of the day - the strongest person was going stay with it."
McPhie finished sixth, placing her fifth in the World Cup moguls overall standings. Eliza Outtrim (Steamboat Springs, CO) was 10th, Heidi Kloser (Vail, CO) 13th and rookie KC Oakley (Park City, UT) 16th.
OFFICIAL RESULTS FIS Freestyle World Cup Myrkdalen—Voss, Norway – March20, 2011 Dual Moguls
Women 1. Hannah Kearney, Norwich, VT 2. Jennifer Heil, Canada 3. Justine Dufour-LaPointe, Canada - 6. Heather McPhie, Bozeman, MT 10. Eliza Outtrim, Steamboat Springs, CO 13. Heidi Kloser, Vail, CO 16. KC Oakley, Park City, UT
For complete results: http://www.fis-ski.com/uk/604/1228.html?cal_suchsector=FS&event_id=28280
