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Snyderman Third in Are Duals
ARE, Sweden (March 8) - Kayla Snyderman (Winchester, MA) was on the podium again for the U.S. Ski Team Saturday, finishing third in a dual moguls World Cup in Are, Sweden. Michelle Roark (Denver) was fourth. Bryon Wilson (Butte, MT) qualified first and had a career best fifth.
Japan's Aiko Uemura won her fourth straight over Czech Nikola Sudova to clinch the World Cup title. Dmitriy Reiherd of Kazhakstan upset World Cup champion Dale Begg-Smith of Australia to take the men's victory.
Second Podium for Rookie Snyderman
It was Snyderman's second podium of the year - her first full-time season on the World Cup. The Waterville Valley skier was third in individual moguls at Lake Placid in January.
"Kayla did a great job today," said Moguls Head Coach Scott Rawles. "She had a few weeks in a row where she struggled a little bit so it was great she put it together today. She skied consistently and was a lot faster today than in the individual moguls yesterday.
"She also had to ski two of her teammates today," added Rawles. "She had a close duel with Emiko [Torito, Denver] in the round of 16 and took on the reigning world champion Kristi Richards in the quarter finals. She skied against some big hitters today."
The U.S. Ski Team had packed six skiers into the 16-skier finals. Snyderman started out in the finals drawing teammate Torito, who has a three-event podium string. Snyderman advanced to then knock off Richards in quarterfinals before losing to Sudova in the semis. Snyderman came back to win the third place round over Roark.
"Both she and Michelle skied well," added Rawles. "In fact, that was one of the better duals of the day. I think Kayla just nipped her on the speed.”
World Junior Champ Wilson Scores Career Best
Wilson, out of the Wasatch Freestyle program, was knocked off by Reiherd in the quarterfinals, but came back to finish a career best fifth. The 2007 NorAm Cup and World Junior Champion led qualifying for the first time.
"Bryon did a great job, qualifying number one - best qualifying ever," said Rawles. "He battled some injuries early in the season and I think he's starting to get his health back and with it is his confidence. He was tenth yesterday, which was his second top-10 of the year. So he's starting to build that confidence back. He just went a little bit too big on his top air in the quarterfinals."
Are Showcases Great Event Weekend
Rawles had kudos for event organizers in Are, which was site of last year's FIS Alpine World Ski Championships. One of the highlights of that event was a night freestyle exhibition. It had been nearly 20 years since the last freestyle World Cup on the central Sweden mountain.
"They really did an awesome job here with the event, certainly one of our best of the year," added Rawles. "And it was especially nice to come to the hometown of our coach Lasse Fahlen and take home some podiums. It meant a lot to him."
The moguls World Cup circuit wraps up next Wednesday in Valmalenco, Italy.
OFFICIAL RESULTS
2008 FIS FREESTYLE WORLD CUP
Are, Sweden - March 8, 2008
Dual Moguls
Men (16 make finals)
1. Dmitriy Reiherd, Kazhakstan
2. Dale Begg-Smith, Australia
3. Vincent Marquis, Canada
4. Rusian Sharifullin, Russia
5. Bryon Wilson, Butte, MT
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7. Patrick Deneen, Cle Elum, WA
10. Jimmy Discoe, Ridgway, CO
40. LandonGardner, Missoula, MT
42. David Babic, Washington, VT
45. Nate Roberts, Park City, UT
Women (16 make finals)
1. Aiko Uemura, Japan
2. Nikola Sudova, Czech Republic
3. Kayla Snyderman, Winchester, MA
4. Michelle Roark, Denver
5. Kristi Richards, Canada
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8. Shelly Robertson, Reno, NV
9. Jillian Vogtli, Elicotville, NY
11. Emiko Torito, Denver
15. Heather McPhie, Park City, UT
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