Kearney, Kingsbury on top in Deer Valley
Hannah Kearney after the win in Deer Valley Thursday. (USSA/Tom Kelly)
Olympic gold medalist Hannah Kearney wanted to charge tonight in Deer Valley, and charge she did, to her second win of the season.
“It feels really good to be rewarded by the judges for pushing myself,” said Kearney. “I felt a little bit out of control, but they didn’t punish me too much — and that’s a nice thing. … It felt good … to have the maturity to feel out of control, pull it together and handle the bottom air.”
Kearney, who, by her own standards, finished a disappointing second place in Calgary last weekend, said she didn’t intend to hold back in that event, but it definitely motivated her to charge a little harder on home snow this week. She was accused of skiing “really consistent,” which she took as, “you’re not trying hard enough.”
The top five consisted of two Americans, Kearney and Heather McPhie in fourth, plus three skiers named Dufour-LaPointe: the Canadian sisters, Chloe, Justine and Maxine, who finished second, third and fifth, respectively.
From the qualifying round to finals, Kearney went much bigger off the top jump and shaved more than a second off her time.
“I just want to ski well — and win,” she said. “It means everything to me (to defend the gold in Sochi). I’ve never gone into the Olympics as the defending champion, so I don’t know what it’s going to feel like, what it’s going to take. But I feel like I’m in a good place in my life and at a good age to hopefully be able to handle it. … It’s going to be so different than Vancouver, and I’m OK with that.”
For McPhie, obviously she would have loved to have been on the podium; but the results are moving in the right direction, so she was pleased.
“Fourth is always a little rough, but it’s my best result of the season,” said McPhie. “I’m right on track with what I’m working on. I just have to keep believing. It’s going to happen. … I’m working on stuff; I’m knocking on the door, and I’m excited about what I’m doing.”
In the men’s event, Canadian Mikael Kingsbury remains undefeated this season with wins in all three World Cup events. Per usual, he was joined on the podium by teammate Alex Bilodeau in second, while fellow Canadian Marc-Antoine Gagnon matched his best World Cup result in third.
American Troy Murphy skied to, by far, his best career result of fifth. The 22-year-old has made only seven World Cup starts, all within the U.S. border.
“I knew I could do it,” said Murphy. “I have had pretty bad luck the passed couple of years, but I always believed I could be here. I love skiing (in Deer Valley). Its definitely my favorite course. I’m really excited for Saturday and hopefully we’ll get more snow and it’ll just get better from there. I definitely have much more confidence now going in to the Saturday.”
Pat Deneen was the next best American finisher in sixth.
This is a developing story. Check back for more.
RESULTS
About the Author: Geoff Mintz
