Freestyle

Silver for Kearney at Worlds

by
USSA
2015-01-18 08:01
 

KREISCHBERG, Austria (Jan. 18, 2015) - Veteran Hannah Kearney (Norwich, VT) powered her way to a silver medal Sunday at the FIS Freestyle World Ski Championships in Kreischberg. Rival Justine Dufour-Lapointe took the win. For the men, France's Anthony Benna was an upset winner over Canada's Mikael Kingsbury. Patrick Deneen (Cle Elum, WA) was fourth. It was Kearney's seventh career World Championship medal.

From qualifications through the finals rounds, Kearney improved every run - but Dufour-Lapointe was there to respond.

"Today, my last run was my best run," said Kearney. "I made the improvements I wanted but Justine beat me. And that happens - that’s moguls skiing. That’s why competition is fun and I’m glad we’ll get to ski again tomorrow."

Hannah Kearney throws here 360 mute grab at World Championships. (Getty Images/Agence Zoom - Stanko Gruden)

 

Deneen also improved with each run and was fastest in the final run. But a slight twist on his final jump cost him a narrow margin and kept him out of the medals.

"Pat’s final run was s best run - he had the best exit out of the top for hm and the tallest position through the middle section," said Moguls Head Coach Garth Hager. "On the bottom jump he got a little twisted and that got him a small dedication. And he got the fastest time but speed doesn’t get rewarded as much as it used to. That needs to be adjusted in the future to keep our sport progressive."

With the silver, Kearney moved into a tie with Norway's Kari Traa for the most World Championship medals at seven. Kearney will have an opportunity to gain an eighth in dual moguls Monday.

HIGHLIGHTS

  • Hannah Kearney earned her seventh career World Championships medal, winning silver in moguls at Kreischberg.
  • Her seventh title matched the mark of Norway's Kari Traa, and bumped her one ahead of Canada's Jenn Heil.
  • Thomas Rowley was seventh, Troy Murphy 11th and Sho Kashima 24th.
  • In the women’s moguls, Ali Kariotis was eighth, Keaton McCargo 12th, Sophia Schwartz 17th and K.C. Oakley 18th.
  • Dual moguls are set for Monday in Kreischberg.
  • Universal Sports Network will carry same-day coverage at 9:00 p.m. EST.
  • Deneei: Top Air- D Spin 720;  Bottom Air: Back Flip Iron Cross
  • Kearney: Top Air: Layout  Bottom Air: 360 mute grab

QUOTES
Hannah Kearney

World Championships is always a goal as an athlete to ski your best at Worlds. Today, my last run was my best run. I made the improvements I wanted but Justine beat me. And that happens - that’s moguls skiing. That’s why competition is fun and I’m glad we’ll get to ski again tomorrow.

Duals is a time for speed. And I wasn’t the fastest skier down the course today. What was good about today was that I made the improvements I was thinking about each run. I’ll look at video tonight and come up with a plan. 
 

Garth Hager, Moguls Head Coach
Hannah did well through the day to improve her run every round. Her main focus was to have a clean exit out of the top air and to get a good straight body on her layout every time then prep better for her 360 mute grab on the bottom by driving her hands into the jump. She was right on her plan. It just came down to Justine having a really clean run.

Pat’s final run was s best run - he had the best exit out of the top for hm and the tallest position through the middle section. On the bottom jump he got a little twisted and that got him a small dedication. And he got the fastest time but speed doesn’t get rewarded as much as it used to. That needs to be adjusted in the future to keep our sport progressive.

For tomorrow, we’ll be trying to charge a little further and farther on the top landing to set the speed up for the middle. This is a fairly flat course so if you can generate speed out of the landings, that’s where you can get an advantage.

Silver medalist Hannah Kearney shares the podium with Justine Dufour-Lapointe and Britteny Cox. (Getty Images/Agence Zoom - Stanko Gruden)

 

HELP THE TEAM

The U.S. Ski Team relies solely on the support of the American public. Click here to support the team.

 


 


Preview the new U.S. Ski & Snowboard website.


Preview