The world’s most prestigious and exciting freestyle-ski competition was held at Deer Valley Resort from January 31 to February 2, 2013. Skiers from around the world came to compete in moguls, aerials and duel-moguls competitions.
Named by many as the “Superbowl of Freestyle,” these competitions are the highlight of the freestyle World Cup schedule. Deer Valley, Utah was the site of the moguls and aerials competition during the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympic Games, and as a result, Deer Valley’s on-hill facilities, set in a resort atmosphere, are consistently recognized as one of the best in North America.
In the women’s moguls event, the US women swept the podium. Hannah Kearney, with a score of 25.54 won the gold medal. Heather McPhie, who resides in Park City, earned the silver by posting a score of 23.85, while Eliza Outtrim took the bronze.
Patrick Deneen from the US captured the bronze medal in the men’s moguls, as two Canadians, Mikael Kingsbury and Alex Bilodeau took the top first and second places, respectively.
In the aerials competition, Michael Rossi, an 18-year old Park City resident, found himself on the podium for the first time in his young career, jumping his way to a third-place finish. This year is his first full season on the World Cup tour, and he wasn’t expecting to earn a podium finish so quickly. Maxim Gustik of Belarus won the gold, and Travis Gerrits from Canada won the silver.
On the women's side, China's Mengtao Xu won gold. Laura Peel of Australia and Xin Zhang of China took second and third, respectively. Michael Rossi’s US teammates and fellow Park City residents, Emily Cook and Dylan Ferguson, failed to qualify for the superfinal round of four despite strong performances in the round of 12.
Hannah Kearney repeated her gold performance in the dual moguls competition on Saturday, February 2nd. She said balancing speed and technique was the key to her success in the event. Canada's Justine Dufour-Lapointe and Kazakhstan's Yulia Galysheva took second and third places, respectively.
Brad Wilson, who grew up in Montana but lives in Park City and skis for Wasatch Freestyle, earned is first-ever World Cup podium with a third-place finish in the men’s dual moguls competition. His brother Byron Wilson had to back out of the singles competition on Thursday due to an injury, so Brad was the Wilson family’s only chance for a podium finish. He didn’t disappoint, knocking off top-ranked Mikael Kingsbury of Canada in the quarterfinal round. Fellow American Patrick Deneen and Canadian Alex Bilodeau earned their second podium finishes of the weekend, taking second and first places, respectively.
