Kearney Win Caps Strong Day in Sochi

By Published On: February 15th, 2013Comments Off on Kearney Win Caps Strong Day in Sochi

Olympic champion Hannah Kearney won under the lights in Rosa Khutor to lead a dominant day for the U.S. Freestyle Ski Team. Eliza Outtrim was second with Heather McPhie fourth — missing the podium on a tiebreaker.

Patrick Deneen was second in the men’s to Canada’s Mikael Kingsbury. It was a strong day for the USA with six women making the round of 16 semifinals and four moving on into the six personal finals.

The win moved Kearney into the World Cup moguls lead for the first time this season. McPhie is third with Outtrim now fourth.

“Today really tested my skiing and to be able to pull off a win in all the different conditions we experienced makes me confident in my training and my ability,” said Kearney. “This venue and course is something really special. So many people are a part of making this a success and I’m extremely excited that the Olympics are here in less than a year.”

The warm, soft conditions were a challenge for athletes in maintaining consistent speed and landing jumps. But athletes were impressed with the overall venue construction which has all events sharing a common finish area.

“It was a tough day out there, but I couldn’t be more pleased with the way I skied,” Outtrim said. “The conditions weren’t exactly ideal but we were all at the same disadvantage and so many people skied really well. The venue is absolutely unreal. So many people worked so hard to pull this event off and I’m so thankful and appreciative of all their hard work. It really paid off.”

“This course is awesome, It’s incredible, but the conditions were all over the place,” said Deneen. “We’re an outdoor sport so we have to learn to cope with those conditions and learn to make the best of it. I was lucky today that I was able to put down some solid runs and to have a podium on the Olympic Venue is a pretty unbelievable feeling.”

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About the Author: Geoff Mintz

Geoff Mintz is a former alpine ski racer who cut his teeth at Ragged Mountain and Waterville Valley, N.H. After graduating from Holderness and UVM, he relocated to Colorado, where he worked on the hill prior to pursuing a career in journalism. Mintz served as associate editor for Ski Racing Media from 2011 to 2015. He later reconnected with his local roots to manage all marketing and communications for Ski & Snowboard Club Vail before resuming work at SRM as editor-in-chief.