Kearney, Kingsbury golden at World Champs

Hannah Kearney executed near perfect runs to earn her second career World Championship title at the the 2013 Voss FIS Freestyle World Ski Championships.

In front of a crowd of thousands, Kearney stayed atop the leader board through each round with the fastest times, cleanest turns and biggest air.

Kearney said there are always new athletes coming up the line and new tricks to perfect, and she has put a lot of pressure on herself to stay atop her game.

“I have to say that my injury this season definitely helped me keep my focus,” said Kearney. “When I was watching my competitors train and compete it only pushed me to not be complaisant and to never take my health for granted. It became my epic challenge to battle back and fight for that yellow bib.”

After her injury, Kearney wanted to make up for lost time when she returned to competition this winter.

“Whether it’s a World Cup, World Champs or the Olympics,” she said. “Moguls is a difficult sport and often inconsistent so to be able to say I won this event eight years ago is a testament to the consistency of my skiing. That’s something i’m extremely proud of.”

Kearney became only the third woman in history to earn two World Championship moguls titles (Candice Gilg of France, 1995, 1997; Kari Traa of Norway, 2001, 2003). She threw back lay on the top air and a 360 mute grab on the bottom and maxed out her speed points with a score of 7.5 in her final run.

Heather McPhie, who qualified second, ended the competition just off the podium in fourth.

Kingsbury crowned World Champion

Mikael Kingsbury’s World Championship win here capped a three-medal day for Canada in the moguls. Alex Bilodeau finished with the silver medal and Pat Deneen of the U.S. took bronze.

After qualifying first in yesterday’s eliminations and first again today in the final, Kingsbury threw down a huge super final run that included a double twisting back flip off the top jump and a cork 1080, or triple twisting off-axis trick, off the second to take the title with a score of 27.59.
 
For the 20-year-old it was the culmination of a lifelong dream.
 
“I have been waiting a while for this and dreaming about the day that I would earn the World Championship title. I worked hard all summer to get to this day and I’m very happy,” he said, adding, “When I woke up this morning I was in a World Championship mood. I felt perfect. My body was perfect, so I knew it could be today.”
 
A bonus for Kingsbury was the fact that his parents made the trip to Norway to see him compete. “For sure it’s extra special that they’re here. Actually, I have no words for the whole experience right now, it’s going to have to sink in.”
 
Olympic Champion Alex Bilodeau wasn’t far behind Kingsbury, finishing with a score of 26.95. The defending dual mogul champion said, “I’m happy about my skiing today. I delivered what I could deliver and it wasn’t enough to win, but I did what I could. Congratulations to Mikael for his win.”
 
The medal secured the Rosemère, Que. native his provisional nomination to Canada’s 2014 Olympic squad through the CFSA’s Method A nomination procedure.
 
Rounding out the men’s podium from the six-man super final was Patrick Deneen of the U.S. at 25.90.

Dual moguls will kick off Friday at 8 a.m. ET