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Dufour-Lapointe and Benna claim moguls gold
KREISCHBERG, AUT – The Kreischberg 2015 FIS Freestyle Ski and Snowboard World Championships got back to ski action on Sunday, crowning two new world champions, with Justine Dufour-Lapointe (CAN) and Anthony Benna (FRA) taking the respective ladies' and men's gold medals in a tense moguls competition.
With a packed Sunday schedule that saw morning qualifications narrow the fields to 18 ladies and 18 men, followed quickly by a two round final that first cut the field to six before proceeding to the super final medal round, the best moguls skiers in the world were forced to be on their game in every trip down the tight Kreischberg course.
From the outset, it seemed written that the battle for ladies' gold would come down to a face-off between Dufour-Lapointe and defending world champion Hannah Kearny (USA), as Kearney qualified within 2 points of top-ranked Dufour-Lapointe despite not putting down her cleanest run.
And of course, that's exactly what happened in the super final, as Kearney skied her signature run cleanly from top to bottom, even putting a little extra tweak on her 360 mute grab on the bottom jump, making her far and away the highest-ranking jumper of the night.
However, jump scores are weighted for only 20% of an athlete's run, with time, also at 20%, and turning, at 60% making up the rest of that score, and Dufour-Lapointe skied both more cleanly and more quickly than did Kearney, and when everything was tallied up Justine's 87.25 points to Kearney's 85.66 convincingly earned the Canadian the gold.
"Today is really special," said Dufour-Lapointe after the competition, "Winning the world championship was a goal and a dream, and so being able to win it today is unbelievable. After the (Sochi 2014) Games I've grown up so much, I've learned a lot, and I feel like I've gained even more experience today. I feel like I was way more in control than at my last world championships."
Britteny Cox (AUS) continued what has so far been a magical Ski and Snowboard World Championships for the Australian team, taking the bronze medal. Cox skied confidently all day, and was able to knock Maxime Dufour-Lapointe (CAN) into fourth place, thwarting another Dufour-Lapointe podium reunion.
The men's competition saw a shocking outcome, as Anthony Benna effectively outlasted the typically unbeatable Mikael Kingsbury (CAN) in a high-speed competition, denying the Voss 2013 world champion in his bid to defend his title.
Benna has been resurgent this year, registering a podium in the first World Cup event of the season after being held off the board for three years. On Sunday, he was consistently one of the most aggressive skiers on the hill, skiing fast and fearlessly on his way to the finals. In the finals, he put down one more solid run, while also putting the pressure on the last man to drop above him, Kingsbury.
After dominating the field all day, Kingsbury proceeded to make an uncharacteristic mistake, landing forward on his first jump and missing the turn into his first mogul. It wasn't a huge error, but it was enough in the judges' eyes to deem Benna more deserving of the title. Against all odds, the Frenchman, in that one second of Kingsbury's mistake, became the world champion.
"It's a big surprise for me," Benna acknowledged, "I've never beaten Mikin the World Cup, but today I take first place. It's crazy."
Kingsbury was gracious in defeat.
"I was skiing really well today, and when I won qualification and first final I felt like it was a good moment for me to defend my title. But Benna skied great and I made a mistake. I'm super happy for him. He's the new world champion. But I'm coming for him tomorrow (in the dual moguls)."
Bronze on the day went to Alexandr Smyshlyaev (RUS), as the Sochi 2014 bronze medalist shows an impressive ability to put up his best performances on the biggest days. Smyshlyaev skied exceptionally well, and were it not for Benna's lifetime-best performance he very well could have been holding silver at the end of the night.
Kreischberg 2015 competition continues on Monday with dual moguls competition.
With a packed Sunday schedule that saw morning qualifications narrow the fields to 18 ladies and 18 men, followed quickly by a two round final that first cut the field to six before proceeding to the super final medal round, the best moguls skiers in the world were forced to be on their game in every trip down the tight Kreischberg course.
From the outset, it seemed written that the battle for ladies' gold would come down to a face-off between Dufour-Lapointe and defending world champion Hannah Kearny (USA), as Kearney qualified within 2 points of top-ranked Dufour-Lapointe despite not putting down her cleanest run.
And of course, that's exactly what happened in the super final, as Kearney skied her signature run cleanly from top to bottom, even putting a little extra tweak on her 360 mute grab on the bottom jump, making her far and away the highest-ranking jumper of the night.
However, jump scores are weighted for only 20% of an athlete's run, with time, also at 20%, and turning, at 60% making up the rest of that score, and Dufour-Lapointe skied both more cleanly and more quickly than did Kearney, and when everything was tallied up Justine's 87.25 points to Kearney's 85.66 convincingly earned the Canadian the gold.
"Today is really special," said Dufour-Lapointe after the competition, "Winning the world championship was a goal and a dream, and so being able to win it today is unbelievable. After the (Sochi 2014) Games I've grown up so much, I've learned a lot, and I feel like I've gained even more experience today. I feel like I was way more in control than at my last world championships."
Britteny Cox (AUS) continued what has so far been a magical Ski and Snowboard World Championships for the Australian team, taking the bronze medal. Cox skied confidently all day, and was able to knock Maxime Dufour-Lapointe (CAN) into fourth place, thwarting another Dufour-Lapointe podium reunion.
The men's competition saw a shocking outcome, as Anthony Benna effectively outlasted the typically unbeatable Mikael Kingsbury (CAN) in a high-speed competition, denying the Voss 2013 world champion in his bid to defend his title.
Benna has been resurgent this year, registering a podium in the first World Cup event of the season after being held off the board for three years. On Sunday, he was consistently one of the most aggressive skiers on the hill, skiing fast and fearlessly on his way to the finals. In the finals, he put down one more solid run, while also putting the pressure on the last man to drop above him, Kingsbury.
After dominating the field all day, Kingsbury proceeded to make an uncharacteristic mistake, landing forward on his first jump and missing the turn into his first mogul. It wasn't a huge error, but it was enough in the judges' eyes to deem Benna more deserving of the title. Against all odds, the Frenchman, in that one second of Kingsbury's mistake, became the world champion.
"It's a big surprise for me," Benna acknowledged, "I've never beaten Mikin the World Cup, but today I take first place. It's crazy."
Kingsbury was gracious in defeat.
"I was skiing really well today, and when I won qualification and first final I felt like it was a good moment for me to defend my title. But Benna skied great and I made a mistake. I'm super happy for him. He's the new world champion. But I'm coming for him tomorrow (in the dual moguls)."
Bronze on the day went to Alexandr Smyshlyaev (RUS), as the Sochi 2014 bronze medalist shows an impressive ability to put up his best performances on the biggest days. Smyshlyaev skied exceptionally well, and were it not for Benna's lifetime-best performance he very well could have been holding silver at the end of the night.
Kreischberg 2015 competition continues on Monday with dual moguls competition.
Source: fis-ski.com
