US takes Gold, Silver in World Champs halfpipe
David Wise and Torin Yater-Wallace boosted ahead of the tough competition to win halfpipe gold and silver at the FIS Freestyle World Ski Championships.
Wise and Yater-Wallace put down solid first runs that couldn’t be topped, landing them on the podium just 0.6 points apart.
Tuesday was Wise’s first World Champs win after placing fourth in 2009 and 2011 in Japan and Park City.
“It was one of the most exciting finals we’ve seen all year,” said Wise. “I was going towards the end of the start list and it was so fun to watch everyone drop in and throw down some amazing runs – it was cool to be a part of it. I was excited to see all the guys and watch their runs.”
Yater-Wallace attempted a double 1080 in his second run, which could have put him in position for gold, but he didn’t land it. Tuesday was only Yater-Wallace’s fourth competition back after a shoulder injury; he placed second at X Games, first in Sochi, second at the Park City Grand Prix and now second at Norway.
“Torin had one of the best runs I’ve ever seen him do,” said Wise. “It is such an honor to be a part of such a cool sport, where everyone is throwing down so many incredible runs and compete with the best athletes in the world. It’s an even bigger honor to have the World Champ title because it’s something I will always have. I set a goal of the run I wanted to do and didn’t hold anything back and I am thrilled this all came together for me.”
The win gave Wise the extra 141 points to overtake teammate Yater-Wallace in the AFP halfpipe World Rankings.
U.S. Freeskiing rookie athlete Aaron Blunck finished sixth after a hard crash on his second run. Blunck is having a standout season, using his amplitude and execution to get consistent results.
Simon Dumont finished eighth and is still skiing on two broken wrists and without ski poles.
In women’s halfpipe, Angeli Vanlaanen finished sixth, the top spot for U.S. women. Switzerland’s Virgine Faivre took the gold medal for women. Maddie Bowman did not compete after she sustained a fall in training and didn’t feel up to qualifiers.
Results
World Ski Championships
Men’s Halfpipe
| Rank | Bib | Name | Year | Nation | Result | |||
| 1 | 2 | WISE David | 1990 | USA | 96.2 | |||
| 2 | 1 | YATER-WALLACE Torin | 1995 | USA | 95.6 | |||
| 3 | 4 | KRIEF Thomas | 1993 | FRA | 94.2 | |||
| 4 | 3 | RIDDLE Mike | 1986 | CAN | 89.2 | |||
| 5 | 10 | KEMPPAINEN Antti-Jussi | 1989 | FIN | 86.8 | |||
| 6 | 5 | BLUNCK Aaron | 1996 | USA | 84.2 | |||
| 7 | 6 | ROLLAND Kevin | 1989 | FRA | 80.8 | |||
| 8 | 12 | DUMONT Simon | 1986 | USA | 78.4 | |||
| 9 | 18 | D-ARTOIS Simon | 1992 | CAN | 76.8 | |||
| 10 | 7 | BOWMAN Noah | 1992 | CAN | 76.2 | |||
| 11 | 11 | MARGETTS Matt | 1988 | CAN | 65.2 | |||
| 12 | 8 | POLLET-VILLARD Joffrey | 1992 | FRA | 32.2 | |||
| 13 | 37 | WELLS Beau-James | 1995 | NZL | 77.8 | |||
| 14 | 16 | CROOK Peter | 1993 | IVB | 76.00 | |||
| 15 | 21 | LINDSTAD Jon Anders | 1994 | NOR | 73.8 | |||
| 16 | 20 | SHEEHAN Lyndon | 1988 | NZL | 72.2 | |||
| 17 | 15 | ILIANO Frederick | 1996 | SUI | 71.2 | |||
| 18 | 22 | BUCHAN Murray | 1991 | GBR | 68.8 | |||
| 19 | 9 | WELLS Josiah | 1990 | NZL | 66.6 | |||
| 20 | 23 | NARITA Gurimu | 1994 | JPN | 62.8 | |||
| 21 | 25 | ATKINSON Kristopher | 1991 | CAN | 61.00 | |||
| 22 | 26 | NABOKIKH Pavel | 1989 | RUS | 57.8 | |||
| 23 | 33 | SPEIGHT Peter | 1992 | GBR | 56.2 | |||
| 24 | 17 | TERADA Kiyoshi | 1984 | JPN | 51.4 | |||
| 25 | 32 | NAJDENOV Nikolaj | 1984 | BUL | 49.4 | |||
| 26 | 27 | KORDYUK Petr | 1992 | RUS | 48.8 | |||
| 27 | 31 | CHRISTEN Marc | 1992 | LIE | 47.00 | |||
| 28 | 13 | TSUDA Kentaro | 1983 | JPN | 45.4 | |||
| 29 | 30 | GLEBOV Artem | 1987 | RUS | 42.4 | |||
| 30 | 24 | KIM Kwang-Jin | 1995 | KOR | 40.00 | |||
| 31 | 28 | KAISER Markus | 1978 | LIE | 38.6 | |||
| 32 | 19 | LAUPER Nils | 1982 | SUI | 25.4 | |||
| 33 | 34 | LIKETSOS Konstantinos | 1982 | GRE | 19.00 |
About the Author: Geoff Mintz
