Page Fourth, Giaccio Makes History
Nick Page led the Americans in Saturday’s FIS Moguls World Cup in Tremblant, Canada, finishing fourth. This was Page’s second Super Final appearance, a strong result heading into next week’s Deer Valley events.
“Today, I was able to come out and stick to the three things I knew I needed to do: attacking out of the gate, being narrow through the middle, and showing the bottom air off,” explained Page. “It felt good to be back in the super final; I know that's where I can ski and compete. I was so close yesterday with the seventh. Being the first person out [from Supers] makes you mad, but you can take all that and do well the next day.”
Olivia Giaccio started a new chapter in women’s mogul skiing history when she successfully landed a cork 10 in her bottom air during her first finals run and again in Supers, becoming the first woman to do so in a World Cup competition. She first attempted the trick in competition during the 2019 Almaty World Cup but did not land it. Giaccio finished the day in fifth.
“It was awesome,” said Giaccio about the feat. “It’s something that’s been on my mind ever since Kazakhstan. It was a matter of time [this season] since I trained it all summer—just a question of when. The venue was awesome today, it was perfect for it. To compete it and make history was pretty incredible. Sweet to check off that goal. I’m excited to see tons of little girls go do 10s in the future.”
"I'm proud of Olivia for stepping up and doing [the cork 10]; she's been training it for years and now owns it," said Mogul World Cup Coach Bryon Wilson. "To step up and do that big of a trick was impressive."
Giaccio and Wilson discussed the cork 10 as part of today's plan after yesterday's event and decided to train a few to see if it was in the cards. "In training, she stomped two. So it was just, 'let's go, let's do this.' It was something she's wanted to do for a long time. It's hers now. To compete it twice, land it, and ski out...well done."
Conditions were frigid, measuring negative nine degrees Fahrenheit at the opening of training. As the sun warmed the course and the snow turned sticky, it was important for athletes to carry speed to avoid getting caught up on the terrain. It was a beautiful, slightly warmer than freezing bluebird day when finals rolled around.
Canada’s Mikael Kingsbury won the men’s event, Sweden’s Walter Wallberg came in second, and Japan’s Ikuma Horishima just edged Page out to claim third. Perrine Laffont won for the women, Australia’s Jakara Anthony finished second, and Japan’s Anri Kawamura finished third.
Elizabeth Lemley let the field know she means business in only her second World Cup start, qualifying for finals in a solid seventh position. Lemley missed Supers by just 0.09 points and finished the day in seventh. Coming off of yesterday’s third, Tess Johnson was hungry for another podium but finished ninth. Avital Carroll finished 16th and Madison Hogg 28th.
Dylan Walczyk finished seventh, George McQuinn 18th, Cole McDonald 21st, Brad Wilson 24th, and Jesse Andringa 52nd.
Moguls competes at Deer Valley Resort for two World Cups on Jan. 13 and 14 at the 2022 Intermountain Healthcare Freestyle International. These events will serve as the final two Olympic tryout events for American mogul skiers in their journey to the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing in February.
"Overall, we have some good momentum going, great skiing from our whole team," said Wilson. "We're looking forward to taking that into Deer Valley."
“It's going to be so nice to be back home,” said Page. “Deer Valley does such a good job to make this big event so special.”
RESULTS
2021-22 Freestyle World Cup Schedule
2021-22 Freestyle Olympic Schedule
FOLLOW THE U.S. FREESTYLE SKI TEAM
Instagram @usskiteam
Facebook @usskiandsnowboard
TikTok @usskiandsnowboard
Twitter @usskiteam
