PARK CITY, UT (Feb. 2) Olympic Champion Hannah Kearney (Norwich, VT) stretched her record win streak to 13 with a victory Thursday Feb. 2 in the Putnam Investments Moguls at the Visa Freestyle International at Deer Valley Resort. Heather McPhie (Bozeman, MT) finished second, with an impressive jumps package. Canadian Mikael Kingsbury took the top spot for the men for his sixth consecutive win on the FIS Freestyle World Cup.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Hannah Kearney took 13th win in a row at the Putnam Investments Moguls Competition at the Visa Freestyle International
- Heather McPhie placed second at the same venue where she qualified for the 2010 Olympics
- McPhie's impressive jump package included a back cross on the top and a D spin on the bottom
- Heidi Kloser (Vail, CO) was just off the podium in fourth
- Patrick Deneen (Cle Elum, WA) was also just off the podium in fourth
- Jeremy Cota (Carrabassett Valley, ME), who started the finals in first, broke his pole on the top air and finished 16th
- The U.S. Freestyle Ski Team had six women and four men in the finals with three women making into the four-skier superfinals
- Aerials are on tap for Friday night with dual moguls Saturday night
- Mikael Kingsbury of Canada took his 6th win in a row to remain undefeated
QUOTES
Hannah Kearney
The pressure was on. I enjoyed it. It was nerves that I haven't felt in a while but in an absolutely positive way and I'm glad I was able to take the nerves and perform well and not take them and buckle under the pressure.
It's nice knowing you can ski no matter what – if you're in first place, in second place, if it's getting colder, if the moguls are getting deeper – that's what builds confidence and therefore consistency.
I sincerely try to look at each event as what I'm going to have to do to win that event. It doesn't matter if I skied well the week before. It's different a different course, different judging panel - but I do try to build on it because it represents my goal of consistency.
Heather McPhie
This competition was so much fun. The crowds are amazing, the volunteers are amazing and the course is in such good condition. I'm having so much fun pushing the sport and doing that D-spin in every single run and getting experience all the time. I'm knocking on the door to beat Hannah one of these days soon.
Todd Schirman, Freestyle Program Director
It was absolutely amazing having three out of four ladies in the super finals. It's really been the first time we've been set up to have a sweep. It's amazing to see all of our women stepping up on degree of difficulty and pushing the sport and having the results to show.
The tight competition is a very good thing. It put a lot of pressure on Kearney and got her nerves rolling and that's important for us to make her better and have those nerves. For Heather McPhie to be that person pushing Hannah is amazing and I'm really proud of them.
RESULTS
Official Results
