Historic 1-2 for US aerialists

PARK CITY, Utah – In her first win in four years, Ashley Caldwell lit up the sky with a pair of triple flips, joining teammate Kiley McKinnon in the first 1-2 finish for the U.S. women in aerials in 26 years. Mac Bohonnon notched his second podium of the season, finishing second to a record-setting 138.50 point total set by China’s Guangpu Qi.

Caldwell, a two-time Olympian at just 21 years old, was beaming after finding her way to the top after an excruciating two-year battle back from knee injuries. She did it in style – the only woman in the field to throw two triple flips. McKinnon, meanwhile came in with a pair of very clean doubles to take her third podium of the season — the only three of her career – and moved within two points of the World Cup aerials lead.

At one of the most popular venues in aerials, Caldwell enjoyed the benefit of home snow advantage and risked the higher degree of difficulty triple flips to give her the winning score.

“This is the first time I’ve ever done lay double full full in contest and only the second time I’ve done full full full in contest, and the first time doing them together,” said Caldwell. “It’s really exciting for it to pay off.”

It was an important win for Caldwell, who suffered several injuries in the lead-up to the Sochi Olympic Winter Games. It was her second career World Cup win, but first since Lake Placid in 2011.

Bohonnon, who was on the podium in China before Christmas, put down a 128.51 on his final jump that could easily have won had it not been for the astounding performance of Qi.

“We’ve been training for so long for this,” said Bohonnon. “We’ve got a really young team, but an incredibly talented team. To get three podiums in one night and do that in front of a hometown crowd is just unbelievable.”

All three athletes are products of the Team’s Elite Aerial Development Program, developed in the mid-2000s to introduce acrobatic athletes to freestyle aerials skiing. Caldwell was the first to breakthrough from the program, with Bohonnon and McKinnon each now with three career podiums.

The team dynamic has been amazing. Everyone is working really hard, working well together and supporting each other,” said aerials head coach Todd Ossian. “When there is a strong team, that dynamic always seems to be there, and it’s certainly there right now.”

The aerialists depart Friday for the FIS Freestyle World Ski Championships in Kreischberg, Austria, with training beginning Monday.

Release courtesy of USSA