American moguls skier Hanna Kearney sealed her first World Cup title today at the 2009 Freestyle World Cup finals in La Plagne, France. The moguls season ended in spectacular fashion as the world’s best went head-to-head in a night duals contest to put the lid on the season.
World Champion, Canadian Alexandre Bilodeau cranked out his fifth win of the season, all of which came in the last five competitions, to take home both the moguls and overall globes. Frenchmen Guilbaut Colas and Pierre Ochs joined him on the today’s podium in second and third, respectively. Colas ended the season second in the World Cup moguls rankings.American moguls skier Hanna Kearney sealed her first World Cup title today at the 2009 Freestyle World Cup finals in La Plagne, France. The moguls season ended in spectacular fashion as the world’s best went head-to-head in a night duals contest to put the lid on the season.
“I haven’t wanted anything as much as I have wanted this in a long time. It just felt great,” Kearney said. “Overall it was a glorious moment – one of the best moments of my skiing career so far.”
World Champion, Canadian Alexandre Bilodeau cranked out his fifth win of the season, all of which came in the last five competitions, to take home both the moguls and overall globes. Frenchmen Guilbaut Colas and Pierre Ochs joined him on today’s podium in second and third, respectively. Colas ended the season second in the World Cup moguls rankings.
“Preparation and confidence were the biggest factors for my success this year,” Bilodeau told the Canwest News Service. “But I know I’ll have to work even harder next year. The men’s field is getting stronger and stronger.”
The top American man was Michael Morse in sixth, followed by Sho Kashima in seventh. Landon Gardner finished 15th, while Jeremy Bloom took 16th.
“Today I didn’t exactly get the results I was looking for. It was OK,” said Morse. “I had a pretty good first dual and then in my second I went up against Guilbaut [Colas; France] and I lost to him, which was tough. I did not have my best run of the day against him, but I’m excited the season is coming to an end with me being pretty consistent.”
Austrian Margarita Marbler took the women’s gold for her second win of the season ahead of Nikola Sudova of the Czech Republic in second. Canadians Chloe and Maxime Dufour-Lapointe went head-to-head in the small final to finish third and fourth, respectively. Teammate Jennifer Heil couldn’t get past the quarterfinal round and finished fifth.
A boatload of American women followed, led by Emiko Torito in sixth. Shelly Roberts (7th), Heather McPhie (8th), Hannah Kearney (9th) and Michelle Roark (10th) dominated the second half of the top ten.
Kearney, who only missed the podium at three World Cup events all season long, had an early exit today, losing in the first final run to teammate McPhie. Despite a disappointing result today, Kearney took home the crystal globe 68 point ahead of Heil. Kearney finished the season with three wins and six podiums.
“This is my seventh year on the U.S. Ski Team and it took that long to get here. The best I’ve finished prior to this season was fourth overall, which was my first year on the World Cup in 2004,” Kearney said. “So, it’s sort of been a long battle, but when you want something that badly it feels good to work for it and come out on top.”
The freestyle finals continue in La Plagne tomorrow with men’s and women’s halfpipe competitions.
Women’s Results:
| Rank | Bib | FIS Code | Name | Year | Nation | Result | Level | Points |
| 1 | 4 | 2197853 | MARBLER Margarita | 1975 | AUT | 20.00 | 1000.00 | |
| 2 | 3 | 2267596 | SUDOVA Nikola | 1982 | CZE | 15.00 | 800.00 | |
| 3 | 8 | 2484720 | DUFOUR-LAPOINTE Chloe | 1991 | CAN | 19.00 | 600.00 | |
| 4 | 10 | 2476152 | DUFOUR-LAPOINTE Maxime | 1989 | CAN | 16.00 | 500.00 | |
| 5 | 2 | 2275744 | HEIL Jennifer | 1983 | CAN | 6.56 | 450.00 | |
| 6 | 5 | 2266044 | TORITO Emiko | 1982 | USA | 6.50 | 400.00 | |
| 7 | 6 | 2175640 | ROBERTSON Shelly | 1979 | USA | 6.48 | 360.00 | |
| 8 | 16 | 2364117 | MCPHIE Heather | 1984 | USA | 6.28 | 320.00 | |
| 9 | 1 | 2328513 | KEARNEY Hannah | 1986 | USA | 6.58 | 290.00 | |
| 10 | 7 | 2069813 | ROARK Michelle | 1974 | USA | 6.46 | 260.00 | |
| 11 | 9 | 2329677 | ROBICHAUD Audrey | 1988 | CAN | 6.42 | 240.00 | |
| 12 | 11 | 2399522 | BROWN Jackie | 1986 | CAN | 6.38 | 220.00 | |
| 13 | 12 | 2329386 | OUTTRIM Eliza | 1985 | USA | 6.36 | 200.00 | |
| 14 | 13 | 2425906 | BAZIN Nathalie | 1985 | CAN | 6.34 | 180.00 | |
| 15 | 14 | 2360722 | SCANZIO Deborah | 1986 | ITA | 6.32 | 160.00 | |
| 16 | 15 | 2481681 | STOLYAROVA Ekaterina | 1988 | RUS | 6.30 | 150.00 | |
| 17 | 17 | 2526325 | GUNCHENKO Anastassia | 1991 | RUS | 6.26 | 0.00 |
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Men’s Results:
| Rank | Bib | FIS Code | Name | Year | Nation | Result | Level | Points |
| 1 | 1 | 2426100 | BILODEAU Alexandre | 1987 | CAN | 20.00 | 1000.00 | |
| 2 | 2 | 2337049 | COLAS Guilbaut | 1983 | FRA | 15.00 | 800.00 | |
| 3 | 12 | 2354223 | OCHS Pierre | 1984 | FRA | 21.00 | 600.00 | |
| 4 | 6 | 2407670 | BENNA Anthony | 1987 | FRA | 14.00 | 500.00 | |
| 5 | 3 | 2361498 | MARQUIS Vincent | 1984 | CAN | 6.54 | 450.00 | |
| 6 | 7 | 2270312 | MORSE Michael | 1981 | USA | 6.46 | 400.00 | |
| 7 | 8 | 2417855 | KASHIMA Sho | 1986 | USA | 6.44 | 360.00 | |
| 8 | 13 | 2407573 | VOLKOV Andrey | 1986 | RUS | 6.34 | 320.00 | |
| 9 | 4 | 2183982 | ROUSSEAU Pierre-Alexandre | 1979 | CAN | 6.52 | 290.00 | |
| 10 | 5 | 2482457 | SMYSHLYAEV Alexandr | 1987 | RUS | 6.50 | 260.00 | |
| 11 | 9 | 2278169 | LUUSUA Tapio | 1981 | FIN | 6.42 | 240.00 | |
| 12 | 10 | 2371877 | GINGRAS Maxime | 1984 | CAN | 6.40 | 220.00 | |
| 13 | 11 | 2406797 | BJOERNLUND Jesper | 1985 | SWE | 6.38 | 200.00 | |
| 14 | 14 | 2406506 | SPETT Per | 1985 | SWE | 6.32 | 180.00 | |
| 15 | 15 | 2458304 | GARDNER Landon | 1985 | USA | 6.30 | 160.00 | |
| 16 | 16 | 2289519 | BLOOM Jeremy | 1982 | USA | 6.28 | 150.00 | |
| 17 | 17 | 2414169 | FRANCILLON Baptiste | 1983 | FRA | 6.26 | 0.00 |
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About the Author: Pete Rugh
