Skip to content
Join our Newsletter

Freestyle team picks up five medals in China

Richards back on podium, Kingsbury golden
65069_l

The FIS World Cup Freestyle tour made an historic foray into China this week for the first events ever held in that country.

While the Chinese aerials team has dominated the World Cup in recent years, this was the team's first chance to show off at home. And show off they did, winning seven of the 12 available medals in back-to-back men's and women's aerials competitions.

However, Canada showed that it's still the top nation in moguls with four out of six medals.

In the opening men's aerials event, Canada's Warren Shouldice - the only returning veteran - jumped to a silver medal, between Zongyang Jia and Chao Wu of China.

Shouldice said he was training well but wasn't entirely happy with his competition jumps.

"I survived and because I survived I got on the podium," said Shouldice, who ranked 11th after nearly crashing on his first jump in the finals. He also had a tough landing on his second jump, but kept his spot in the rankings as other jumpers crashed.

Canada's lone jumper on the women's side, veteran Veronika Bauer, was sitting third after her first jump but twisted her knee on the second jump of the day. She missed the second day of competition, and it's unknown when she might return.

"It's really unfortunate," said Bauer, "because after some difficult training everything finally clicked for me today and I was feeling really good after the first jump. Then on the second jump I snowplowed trying to save my landing, hit some ruts and just fell and hurt my knee." Bauer still finished sixth on the day.

The Chinese women swept the podium, with Xin Zhang first, Mengtao Xu second and Shuang Cheng third.

Shouldice had another strong day on Sunday, but placed fourth. The podium went to Guangpu Qi and Zongyang Jia of China, with Renato Ulrich of Switzerland third.

Conditions got worse before Shouldice's second jump, but in the end he says his own mistake cost him a place on the podium.

"With only three guys left to go the snow started and the wind direction changed. I could tell I was about one to one-and-a-half kilometres per hour slow coming in to my takeoff, so I had to break form in the air because I didn't have enough height," said Shouldice. "But that wasn't my big mistake, my mistake was that I missed my landing a bit by taking a deep squat. I'm glad I didn't crash but that squat cost me a spot on the podium today."

Shouldice is the Canadian men's team this year, following the retirement of Steve Omischl, Kyle Nissen and Ryan Blais. However, a strong crew of jumpers is working its way up the ranks through the NorAm Cup and will get some starts with the national team when the World Cup tour comes to North America.

The moguls competition followed, with Canadian national team rookie Mikaël Kingsbury showing the skills that dominated the NorAm circuit last season. He won the gold medal by a large margin. Guibaut Colas of France was second, while Canadian veteran Pierre-Alexandre Rousseau took the bronze medal. Langley's Eddie Hicks, a veteran of the Whistler Blackcomb Freestyle Ski Club, placed a solid eighth. Cedric Rochon was 14th and Olympic champion Alex Bilodeau was 17th after catching an edge and crashing in the qualifier.

"The chairlifts here were pretty slow so we didn't get a chance for a training run between qualifications and finals, so I talked to my coach and we decided not to risk doing anything different than I had done all day before my final run," said Kingsbury, 18, who started off his season with a silver medal the previous week.

"Before my (final) run I was listening to the scores of the other competitors and I knew I was in a position to win if I just put down the run I did in training. I did a clean run with a back full and a cork 720. I wasn't the fastest guy, but I didn't make any mistakes."

Rousseau, 31, was happy to be in the mix.

"I thought last year at the Olympics was the pinnacle for me, but I'm still in great shape and I'm still improving," he said.

Rousseau had nothing but praise for his young teammate.

"Mikaël has everything a mogul skier needs: jumps, speed and the right mindset," he said. "He proved it today and now I can leave the national team this year with the knowledge that it's in good shape for years to come."

Rousseau said he would leave the sport following the world championships in Deer Valley, Utah in February.

The Canadian women also picked up two medals. American Hannah Kearney picked up her second consecutive win, but with a narrower margin over Canada's Jennifer Heil. Heil posted the fastest run of the day, but wasn't as smooth as she needed to be in the middle section.

"I did some great things with my skiing today, I took it up a level," she said. "I made a small mistake in the middle section that cost me, but I definitely laid the foundation for my confidence and my skiing to be at its maximum after Christmas."

Kristi Richards, who lives in Pemberton, picked up her second bronze medal of the season.

"I feel like I am better able to focus and get into the groove, and be able to stand in the gate and be ready to perform regardless of what else is going on around me," Richards said.

Audrey Robichaud was fourth, giving Canada three athletes in the top five. Whistler's Chelsea Hentiuk, also in her rookie season, placed a sold eighth, and Maxime Dufour-Lapointe was 13th.

The team is now officially on break, with competitions resuming the second weekend of January at the Canada Post Grand Prix event at Ski Mont Gabriel, Quebec.