INAWASHIRO, Japan (Mar. 1) – Olympian Bradley Wilson (Butte, MT) earned his second career World Cup victory Saturday in a strong return to World Cup moguls competition after the 2014 Sochi Olympic Winter Games. Fellow Olympic Team member Heather McPhie (Bozeman, MT) took her first podium of the season with second in the women’s event set on the tricky Japanese course. Canadian Justine Dufour-Lapointe took the victory for the women, while three other Canadians filled out the top four in the men’s event. The men and women head back up the hill Sunday to take on dual moguls.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Olympian Bradley Wilson (Butte, MT) earned his second career World Cup victory Saturday in a strong return to World Cup moguls competition after the 2014 Sochi Olympic Winter Games.
- Wilson’s first World Cup victory came on this course a year ago. He took Saturday’s win after throwing a back-X on the top air and a cork 720 on the bottom air in his final run.
- Joe Discoe (Telluride, CO) and Dylan Walczyk (Rochester, NY) finished seventh and eighth after advancing to finals on the difficult course.
- Three Canadians, Marc-Antoine Gagnon, Mikael Kingsbury and Alex Bilodeau, filled out the top four in the men’s event.
- Fellow Olympic Team member Heather McPhie (Bozeman, MT) took her first podium of the season with second in the women’s event.
- Eliza Outtrim (Hamden, CT) also advanced to the superfinal round and finished just off the podium in fourth. Sophia Schwartz (Steamboat Springs, CO) and Ali Kariotis (Tiburon, CA) made it through to the final and finished ninth and 12th respectively.
- Canadian Justine Dufour-Lapointe took the victory for the women with her sister Maxime Dufour-Lapointe in the third spot.
- Olympic bronze medalist Hannah Kearney (Norwich, VT) over rotated on the top air and lost a ski for a DNF. Kearney remains second in the World Cup moguls standings.
- Persistent fog throughout the training period and soft snow added to the difficulty of the infamously intimidating course. The fog lifted Saturday, but the top jump threw off many of the athletes with its steep landing.
- The men and women head back up the hill Sunday to take on dual moguls.
QUOTES
Bradley Wilson
What I like about this course is when you show up you have to adapt to everything that happens here. By the time your run comes you just have to figure it out. I didn't train any top to bottoms today, but you just show up and you have to be able to make it happen. I had such a good time with it. You just go for it! The course isn't stock like some of the other ones are during the season. It tests you and your ability to do what you need to do whatever the conditions are.
Heather McPhie
I've never had great results on this course, so I just showed up and promised myself I would enjoy it. I wouldn't concentrate or stress too much on the results. I learned again today that I need to just trust my skiing.
The top air here is really tricky. It's got a really steep landing and if you make it about four bumps out of the top air you should be feeling good and you can go for the speed. The bottom of the course is much flatter than the top so it's helpful to have experience on this course. It was also helpful that the course was super soft, which I am more comfortable with.
RESULTS
Official Men’s Results
Official Women’s Results
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