Mikaela Shiffrin scored her second super-G podium in two days in St. Moritz, taking third place on Sunday. Breezy Johnson also skied into the points, finishing 24th.

The Italians filled the rest of the FIS World Cup super-G podium, with Federica Brignone and Elena Curtoni going one-two. Alice Robinson, the young upstart from New Zealand, was fourth. Notably missing from the podium was Lara Gut of Switzerland, who was ahead in the splits on her run, but went too straight and crashed hard through two layers of fencing in a difficult compression. After a few tense minutes, she got up and skied to the finish full of cheering Swiss fans.

While the sun came out for Sunday’s super-G after a dark day on Saturday, the conditions remained challenging with whipping winds blowing the women around the terrain-heavy course. The gusts were too strong, in fact, that the start had to be moved down to the reserve start and the race was delayed 40 minutes. “It was a bit tricky today!” said Shiffrin. “Especially with some wind, you get these pushes from behind and you speed up like crazy and it’s a little unexpected… I just tried to push my line and trust it and make good turns and stand strong on my skis.”

Shiffrin also battled nerves—wearing bib two meant she didn’t get much of a course report—but she used her knowledge of the terrain from a long course inspection and the feeling from her skis to ski intelligently down the course. The race gave her a second super-G podium in two days (translating to 120 more valuable points in the overall standings), and her seventh career World Cup super-G podium in only 18 starts. Four of those podiums have been in St. Moritz.   

Breezy Johnson also scored points for the second time in the weekend, taking 24th. Jackie Wiles finished 39th, Nina O’Brien 40th, and Tricia Mangan 43rd. AJ Hurt, Isabella Wright, and Keely Cashman did not finish, but all three are thankfully OK.

Shiffrin leads the overall World Cup standings, with 525 points ahead of Italy's Sofia Goggia (435 points), and Slovakia's Petra Vlhova—who has opted to focus on tech events this year (340 points). Johnson is currently sitting in sixth in the standings, with 213 points. 

The women’s speed team next heads to Val d’Isere, France for a downhill and super-G December 18-19, while the tech team will train for two giant slalom races in Courchevel, France December 21-22.

RESULTS
Women’s super-G

STANDINGS
Women's World Cup overall
Women’s World Cup super-G

HOW TO WATCH
*ALL TIMES EST.

4:30 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women’s Super-G - same-day broadcast, St. Mortiz, SUI, Broadcast NBCSN

Current television broadcast and streaming schedules for all sports are available here. For more information on how to watch broadcasts and streaming, visit our full "how to watch" breakdown.

Please note: Streaming services and apps are third-party services and subject to such parties’ terms of use and data privacy. U.S. Ski & Snowboard disclaims any and all liability for use of third-party services and apps.

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2014 Olympian Taylor Gold was the top U.S. finisher today at the Toyota U.S. Grand Prix finals, earning fifth place in the Woodward Copper superpipe. This was the first Olympic halfpipe qualifying event of this season. 

“That was the run I wanted to do coming into today and after slamming on my first run, It was really nice to land that second one,” said Gold. “The riding is just insane these days so I’m always happy to be up there. Top five is great, of course I want to be on the podium and that’s what I keep striving for but I’m happy.”

U.S. Snowboard Team rider and 2018 Olympian Chase Josey finished in sixth, followed by three-time Olympic Gold Medalist Shaun White in eighth at the Toyota U.S. Grand Prix finals.

Looking ahead to the Dew Tour next week, which is also an Olympic qualifier in this same halfpipe at Woodward Copper, Gold says, “The pipe is really good. I’m going to need a day off at least, maybe two,” referring to his harrowing crash on his first hit mid-McTwist. “After that I’ll feel fresh again and be ready to go. It’ll be nice to get a few more days in here, that’ll be a good time to maybe add in some more of these tricks that I want to add but I’m happy with that first attempt.”

U.S. Ski & Snowboard Halfpipe Coach JJ Thomas says that after taking that huge crash, he was expecting Gold to take a safety run to get back into it, but two minutes before dropping into his second run, says JJ, “He just laced probably the best run he’s ever done and that just made my day. To come back after that crash and put down that run, I told him that was one of the sickest athletic performances I’ve ever seen in my life. That was so boss.”

Josey and White also put down two great runs each, but weren’t able to break into the podium.

Japan’s Ruka Hirano took first, followed by Switzerland’s Jan Scherrer and Japan’s Yuto Totsuka in third. Japan’s Raibu Katayama went down hard during finals, and we are sending our thoughts out for a quick recovery. 

In the women’s field China’s Cai Xuetong took first, followed by Japan’s Sena Tomita and Spain’s Queralt Castellet in third.

The next Olympic halfpipe qualifier is the Dew Tour right here at Copper Mountain, Colo. Dec. 16–19. The packed U.S. Snowboard Team roster will include Chloe Kim, who’s coming into this event following a podium trifecta sweep last winter, including at the Aspen U.S. Grand Prix Olympic tryout event, along with teammate Maddie Maestro, who graced the X Games Aspen and World Championship podiums earning silver medals at each. Mastro and Kim are two of the best women’s snowboard halfpipe athletes in the world right now and are forces to be reckoned with coming into the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022. 

Final Results 

Men's Snowboard Finals 

Women's Snowboard Finals 

The U.S. Freestyle Aerial Team ended their four weeks in Ruka, Finland, on a high note, capturing second place in the Team Aerials FIS World Cup on Saturday. Winter Vinecki, Chris Lillis and Justin Schoenefeld represented the U.S., beating out seven nations for their podium spot. 

Rain early in the day made for some high speeds and had athletes starting further down the in-run for the one-jump World Cup event that kicked off a full day of competition. Vinecki claimed the top American spot with a fifth place finish. Kaila Kuhn was right on her heels in sixth. On the men’s side, athletes were throwing down near-perfect jumps to land on the top of the podium. Lillis earned a 12th place for the best finish of the American men. Schoenefeld came in 14th. 

“It was super exciting to end on a high note here in Finland, we’ve had a lot of ups and downs getting in the rhythm of things,” said Vinecki. “It was good to get a good jump to my feet in the singles event. I was super excited to be in the Team event, it was only my second one. [We were so close] to the top of the podium there. This gave us a bit of a confidence boost for the rest of the season.”

Australia went 1-2 in the single-jump World Cup with Danielle Scott claiming first and Laura Peel coming in second. China’s Mengtao Xu rounded out the podium in third. Russia’s Maxim Burov continued his dominance on the men’s side with another win, and Switzerland went 2-3 with Noe Roth and Pirmin Werner, respectively. 

Karenna Elliott finished 15th, Ashley Caldwell 17th, Megan Nick 21st and Dani Loeb 31st. Eric Loughran finished 19, Quinn 35th and Derek Kreuger 40th. 

In the Team event Vinecki laid down a Double-Full Full in both rounds, and pulled off an impressive save in the second finals round. She came in a little hot but managed to keep it to her feet. “I was able to save it, I was very determined not to fall, especially with it being a team event. I said to myself ‘I am going to land this’ and did,” she said. 

Lillis stomped both of his Double-Full Full Fulls in the team event. Coming off of a crash in training two weeks ago, Lillis was thrilled to be back out on the triple. “It was just a pretty big step forward for me personally,” he said. “I had a pretty traumatic crash that caused me to pull out of the events [last week]. Getting back out there jumping at high caliber felt good.”

Although Lillis holds a bronze medal for the Team event in World Championships from 2021, this marked his first World Cup Team competition. He was excited to get that experience, and to do so with one of his best friends. “It was a lot of fun. [We have been] looking to put this together for a while. It was a lot of fun to jump with Justin, he’s one of my best friends. All of us, Justin, Winter and I, we had a good chemistry and vibe on the hill.”

Schoenefeld acted as anchor and came through with his Double-Full Full Fulls, clinching the podium spot for Team USA in the second finals round. “It was great being in the team event and finding success today.”

Aerials may be an individual sport, but it takes a village for any aerial skier to land on the podium, especially during a Team event. “We have some amazing coaches to help us get here: Vlad, JC and Bergy. It’s a team effort for sure,” said Vinecki.

Team China won Saturday’s Team event and Team Ukraine came in third.

The team travels back to the U.S. Sunday for a rest period and the chance to see the sun again “I’m going to start [this break] by hopefully seeing some daylight,” quipped Schoenefeld. “I’ll continue going to the gym and bouncing on the trampolines, lifting weights, and free skiing as well.”

“I’m looking forward to spending some time with my family and getting a bit of a mental break,” said Vinecki. “It’s been a long four weeks. I’m going to give my body a little bit of rest, and be fresh and ready to go. Once we leave again it will be non stop until after the Olympics.”

Lillis says he’ll be taking time to heal, “I’m definitely still on the mend, I’m not 100% yet. I’m looking forward to competing in Nationals in Bristol in my hometown. I think we (as a team) feel we have a lot more that we need to accomplish. So the whole team is looking forward to the next time we get strap in and compete.”

Aerials will compete next at U.S. National Championships scheduled for Dec. 31 at Bristol Mountain, N.Y. 

RESULTS
Team Aerials
Women’s Aerials
Men’s Aerials

It proved to be a challenging qualification week for the teams at Montafon, the weather was throwing a lot at the competitors and the event organizers with snowfall threatened to postpone the race. As luck would have it, there was a clearing in the weather that allowed the race to continue. Stay focused and don’t let up is a theme we saw at this event. 

The men’s Snowboard Cross final had a tight field at the gate with the defending SBX and local hero, Austria’s Alessandro Haemmerle, Team USA's Nick Baumgartner—coming off a third-place finish at the Secret Garden season opener in China—and two young athletes from the Team Germany, Marin Noerl, and Umito Kirchwehm. It was going to be a battle all the way to the finish. 

Out of the gates, Noerl took the lead and held it for a considerable time. On his home turf, Alessandro held his composure and the second place position keeping up the pressure. In third place was Baumgartner, using his years of experience and skill to keep the pressure on Haemmerle and Noerl. On the second-to-last large turn, Noerl lost control and fell, opening the lead to Haemmerle. With a sealed victory Haemmerle took first, close behind Baumgartner who sealed the second-place position, with Kirchwehm in third place. 

After the race, Baumgartner shared, “This has been an amazing start to my season and I couldn’t be more excited. I’ve always loved racing in Montafon, the people here are so nice and so welcoming to all us athletes. This course made for some tight racing and it was my experience that helped me make smart decisions that got me through the heats and onto the box.”  

For the women’s team, it was the weather, stiff competition, and challenging terrain that really made it difficult during the races. Team USA’s Stacy Gaskill took sixth in the overall standings at Montafon. 

U.S. Ski & Snowboard Coach Peter Foley said that the qualifications were a challenge for the teams. “Nick and Stacy had really good races today. Nick really showed veteran racing skills making incredible passes and calmly weaving his way through traffic.”

Next stop for the SBX team—Cervinia, Italy, Dec. 17–18.

RESULTS
Men
Women

Rosie Brennan led four Davis U.S. Cross Country Team athletes into the points as she continued her torrid early-season World Cup pace, finishing fourth in the freestyle sprint in Davos, Switzerland. 

Ben Ogden posted a World Cup career-best result in 12th. He was 13th-fastest in qualifying and advanced into the semifinals for the first time in his career as one of two Lucky Losers. Jessie Diggins was 19th and Hailey Swibbul was 24th.

"Fun stuff," Ogden said. "I felt really good out there today, especially in the qualifier."

After posting the fifth-fastest qualifying time on a course where she earned her first career World Cup victory last season, Brennan won her quarterfinal heat and finished second in her semifinal heat to advance to the finals.

Sitting like a cat at the back of the pack ready to pounce on the first of two laps in the finals, Brennan moved up on the outside at the start of the second lap, and into the lead heading up the climb. Sprinting up the climb, she crested the top and, unfortunately, caught some loose snow and stumbled, which allowed Sweden’s Maja Dahlqvist, Switzerland’s Nadine Faehndrich, and Slovenia’s Annemarija Lampic to pass.

"What an absolute bitter-sweet day...I am so crushed to have found myself face-first in the snow on the last lap after making my move," Brennan said. "It was a little tricky snow with some fast patches and some slow patches and I think I just got ahead of myself. It was no fault but my own and is definitely hard to swallow.

"I felt great all day and felt strong about my tactics and strength, but it's sprint racing and anything can happen," she continued. "Sometimes you're the windshield and sometimes you're the bug, and today I was the bug."

Brennan recovered quickly, however, Dahlqvist, Faehndrich, and Lampic were too far ahead and finished 1-2-3. For Dahlqvist, it was her third-straight World Cup Sprint victory this season after winning in Ruka, Finland, and Lillehammer, Norway. 

Through seven World Cup starts so far this season, Brennan has four-straight individual top-five results, and currently sits third in the overall World Cup standings. She is also seventh in the World Cup sprint standings and third in the World Cup distance standings.

Norway’s Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo won Saturday’s sprint. Russia’s Sergey Ustiugov was second and Richard Jouve of France was third. With his 12th-place finish, Ogden moved up to 18th in the World Cup sprint standings and 30th in the overall World Cup standings.

The FIS World Cup cross Country season continues Sunday in Davos with a 10k freestyle individual start for the women, and a 15k freestyle individual start for the men.

"The good news is that my fitness is there and my shape is holding up through this very busy Period 1, so I'm doing my best to put that mistake behind me and move forward to tomorrow," Brennan said. 

RESULTS
Women’s freestyle sprint
Men’s freestyle sprint

STANDINGS
Women’s World Cup overall
Men’s World Cup overall
Women’s World Cup sprint
Men’s World Cup sprint

HOW TO WATCH 
All times EDT
Sunday, Dec. 12, 2021
5:40 a.m. FIS Cross Country World Cup Men’s 15km Freestyle - LIVE, Davos, SUI, Streaming Peacock
8:00 a.m. FIS Cross Country World Cup Women’s 10km Freestyle - LIVE, Davos, SUI, Streaming 

Streaming services and apps are third-party services and subject to such parties’ terms of use and data privacy. U.S. Ski & Snowboard disclaims any and all liability for use of third-party services and apps.

Battling more than 19 inches of new snow and tough course conditions, River Radamus was the top American in the FIS World Cup giant slalom in Val d’Isere, France, continuing to show his strength in giant slalom with an impressive 13th place.

Marco Odermatt of Switzerland dominated again after taking two podiums at Birds of Prey last weekend, grabbing the win by nearly six-tenths over Frenchman Alexis Pinturault. Six-tenths behind Pinturault, Manuel Feller of Austria finished third. Odermatt had also won the opening GS in Soelden, Austria—becoming the first man to win the first two GS races in a season since U.S. Alpine Ski Team alumnus Ted Ligety did so in 2013.

Radamus struggled a bit first run, attacking from the start but made a few mistakes in critical sections to land himself in 23rd place. But he came into the second run with more knowledge and respect for the hill to ski the third-fastest run and push himself into 13th place.

“Overall I don’t feel like I skied my best GS today but I’m proud of the result,” said Radamus. “Knowing how much more I have to give and knowing where the result is, I can take solace in that and know I’m going in the right directions.”

Radamus has been showing that he’s one to keep an eye on throughout the Olympic season, capturing his career-best sixth place World Cup finish in Soelden. And with the tour heading next week to Alta Badia, Italy where he’s had a slew of top-20 results, he’s ready to prove himself.

“Game plan remains the same,” said Radamus. “Try to build on this and find the good and eliminate the bad and hopefully take this momentum with two solid results to start the season into my favorite race of the year in Alta Badia.”

Bridger Gile did not qualify for a second run in Val d’Isere and Brian McLaughlin and George Steffey did not finish. The men race slalom on Sunday to finish out the weekend in France.

RESULTS
Men’s giant slalom

HOW TO WATCH
*ALL TIMES EST.

Saturday, Dec. 11, 2021
12:30 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women’s Super-G - same-day broadcast, St. Moritz, SUI, Broadcast NBCSN

Sunday, Dec. 12, 2021
3:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Slalom, run 1 - LIVE, Val D'Isere, FRA, Ski and Snowboard Live
4:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women’s Super-G - LIVE, St. Moritz, SUI, Broadcast Olympic Channel, Streaming Peacock
7:00 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Slalom, run 2 - LIVE, Val D'Isere, FRA, Ski and Snowboard Live, Streaming Peacock

Current television broadcast and streaming schedules for all sports are available here. For more information on how to watch broadcasts and streaming, visit our full "how to watch" breakdown.

Please note: Streaming services and apps are third-party services and subject to such parties’ terms of use and data privacy. U.S. Ski & Snowboard disclaims any and all liability for use of third-party services and apps.

Follow the U.S. Alpine Ski Team:
Instagram: @usskiteam
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Tess Johnson led the Americans in the Moguls FIS World Cup in snowy Idre Fjäll, Sweden, Saturday, with a fourth-place finish. 

“I’m really happy with how I skied,” said Johnson. “This was my first supers in three seasons and it feels incredible. I was just focused on my skiing all day, one run at a time. It had been snowing all day and the course was absolutely ripping. Each run was better and better. Staying the moment and focusing on the cues I know work for me gave me a ton of confidence [today] even in training runs.”

A fierce middle section combined with a top cork to bottom venom earned Johnson a score of 82.25. “When I'm focused more on the skiing and the process rather than the outcome, I can access that flow state more. A lot of athletes will know what flow state feels like, I was proud to access it each run. I think my skiing and scores reflected it. When I’m there (in that flow state) is when I have the most fun and the biggest smile on my face.” 

Johnson was among four women to qualify for Finals and the only American to ski in the super final round. “Tess threw a hell of a punch in that final,” said Head Mogul Coach Matt Gnoza. “I am so impressed with her demeanor, her approach, her middle section. She’s an awesome athletic skier and to see that showing through now in December is really exciting. She’ll have some momentum moving forward.”

Johnson credits her mental preparedness in being able to ski at the level she did, and hopes to continue to do. “This is the first international World Cup we had sport psychologist Alex Cohen here, which was such a nice addition to our already incredible staff,” she said. “I wouldn't be the skier I am today without Alex, Riley, Bryon and Matt. It’s so cool to have that whole team here with me, and that’s partly what made today really special to me.”

Japan’s Anri Kawamura won for the women, Australia’s Jakara Anthony came in second, and  France’s Perrine Laffont came in third. 

Jaelin Kauf skied the fastest run of the day for the women in the first round of finals, smoking the field at 24.22 seconds. Combined with her top mute to bottom back X she earned a score of 79.4, missing a Super Finals appearance by just 0.05 points, and finished the day in seventh. Hannah Soar skied clean and technical, throwing a top cork and bottom truck driver, finishing in eighth place. Kai Owens had two impressive airs, but had a few small mistakes in the middle section and finished 10th. 

Olivia Giaccio finished 21st, Morgan Schild finished 25th and Madison Hogg 35th. 

Brad Wilson was the only American man to qualify for finals. He came rockin’ out of the start gates in typical Brad fashion but made a little mistake in the bottom air which made the difference in Super Final appearance and finished ninth.  

Japan’s Ikuma Horishima won for the men, Sweden’s Albin Holmgren earned second and France’s Ben Cavet came in third. Noticeably absent from Super Finals and the podium was winningest mogul skier of all time Canada’s Mikael Kingsbury, who finished seventh. 

Nick Page finished 18th, Dylan Walczyk 31st and Cole McDonald 48th.

Competition continues Sunday with the first Dual Moguls World Cup of the season. Five women qualified on Friday for the round of 16: Johnson, Soar, Kauf, Owens and Giaccio. Men’s qualifications go off Sunday morning. The Americans love a good duel, and with the heightened level of competition that comes from an Olympic year, mogul fans can expect the U.S. to come out fighting.

RESULTS
Women’s Moguls
Men’s Moguls
Women’s Dual Moguls Qualifications

HOW TO WATCH
Sunday, Dec. 12, 2021
7:00 a.m. FIS Freestyle World Cup Dual Moguls - LIVE, Idre Fjall, SWE, Ski and Snowboard Live, Streaming Peacock

Streaming services and apps are third-party services and subject to such parties’ terms of use and data privacy. U.S. Ski & Snowboard disclaims any and all liability for use of third-party services and apps.

Mikaela Shiffrin showed that she can still rule speed events, capturing her first FIS World Cup speed podium in nearly two years in the super-G in St. Moritz, Switzerland. Breezy Johnson was 12th.

Lara Gut-Behrami of Switzerland, the reigning super-G World Champion, skied a hill she knew well to the win. Sofia Goggia of Italy, who had swept the speed events at the Lake Louise World Cups last week, took second.

The course was in excellent condition, but flat light and lightly falling snow made it difficult to see the tricky undulating terrain, which played into Shiffrin’s favor. “You see that this track has so much terrain—it’s a little like every turn has a roll or compression that really throws you around,” said Shiffrin. “I could see that from the start and I decided to try to ski a good solid run and not go too crazy trying to be too aerodynamic when most of the girls were struggling to make clean turns. I was just trying to make as clean turns as I could.”

While Shiffrin is known as a strong technical skier, she is no stranger to the podium in FIS World Cup speed events, but it had been a minute. She was last on the World Cup podium in Bankso, Bulgaria in January 2020, when she won the super-G, and also took third place in the 2021 FIS World Ski Championships super-G in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. But her lack of time with speed boards on her feet this season meant she came in a little wary of her chances.

“I would say this was my sixth run of super-G in six months,” added Shiffrin. “I didn’t really trust myself enough to be the most aggressive on this hill, like I could imagine Lara and Sofia would ski. I have the potential to be competitive, but today is just 100% more practice than what I had yesterday. It was a good run, actually. Quite good.”

Shiffrin’s third-place extends her lead in the FIS overall standings to 465 points above Goggia’s 395. The race was also her 111th podium in 200 World Cup starts—meaning Shiffrin has a 56% chance of finishing in the top three of every race she enters.

U.S. downhill queen Breezy Johnson also had a banner day, capturing 12th place—her third best super-G result in her career.

Rounding out the Americans, AJ Hurt was 34th, Tricia Mangan 36th, Jackie Wiles 37th and Nina O’Brien 43rd. Isabella Wright and Kelly Cashman did not finish.

Next up, the women race another super-G on Sunday while the men ski slalom in Val d'Isere, France. 

RESULTS
Women’s super-G

STANDINGS
Women's World Cup overall
Women’s World Cup super-G

HOW TO WATCH
*All times EST.

Saturday, Dec. 11, 2021
12:30 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women’s Super-G - same-day broadcast, St. Moritz, SUI, Broadcast NBCSN

Sunday, Dec. 12, 2021
3:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Slalom, run 1 - LIVE, Val D'Isere, FRA, Ski and Snowboard Live
4:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women’s Super-G - LIVE, St. Moritz, SUI, Broadcast Olympic Channel, Streaming Peacock
7:00 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Slalom, run 2 - LIVE, Val D'Isere, FRA, Ski and Snowboard Live, Streaming Peacock

Current television broadcast and streaming schedules for all sports are available here. For more information on how to watch broadcasts and streaming, visit our full "how to watch" breakdown.

Please note: Streaming services and apps are third-party services and subject to such parties’ terms of use and data privacy. U.S. Ski & Snowboard disclaims any and all liability for use of third-party services and apps.

Follow the U.S. Alpine Ski Team:
Instagram: @usskiteam
Facebook: @usskiandsnowboard
TikTok: @usskiandsnowboard
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2018 Olympic Silver Medalist Alex Ferreira claimed his first win of the season at the Toyota U.S. Grand Prix, the second of six U.S. Olympic ski halfpipe qualifying events Friday at Copper Mountain, Colorado.

U.S. Freeski Team athlete Birk Irving landed just off the podium in fourth place, with David Wise in seventh, Lyman Currier in eighth and Aaron Blunck 10th after a frustrating finals for the top qualifier.

“It was a little bit snowy and windy, so I backed off a bit,” says Ferreira, “but I just kept my head up and never gave up. I just did my best.”

Ferreira put down his top score on his first of three final runs, where the best run counted. He dropped in switch left 1080 tail grab, into a right double 1260 mute grab, left double 1440 safety grab, switch right 1080 tail grab, finishing with a left double 1260 safety.

“It’s absolutely unbelievable, I’m still in shock,” said Ferreira as he stepped off the podium. “I’ve never done well at Copper, and to not only do well but to win is something in and of itself. I’m just so grateful.”

Ferreira most recently won gold at the 2020 Aspen X Games and finished in fourth at the Aspen 2021 FIS Freeski halfpipe World Championships.

The men’s podium was rounded out by New Zealand’s Nico Porteous in second and Canada’s Brendan McKay in third.

In the women’s field, 2018 Olympic Bronze Medalist Brita Sigourney was the top American finisher in fourth place, followed by Hanna Faulhaber in fifth.

“It’s been snowing and a windy—not exactly the conditions we want to compete in,” said Sigourney. “The pipe was still good and a lot of thanks to our wax techs for keeping our skis running fast because that was a major player today.”

This finish follows a third-place podium finish at the Aspen U.S. Grand Prix—the first Olympic qualifying event.

Sigourney said, “I’m happy with where I’m sitting right now going into the Olympics. We obviously have a lot more events coming up but I’m happy to start the season off like this.”

Eileen Gu, competing for Team China took first place today, followed by Canada’s Rachael Karker, and Estonia’s Kelly Sildaru in third.

RESULTS
Men’s halfpipe
Women’s halfpipe

HOW TO WATCH 
All times EDT
Friday, Dec. 10, 2021
9:30 p.m. FIS Freeski World Cup Toyota U.S. Grand Prix Halfpipe - same-day broadcast, Copper Mountain, CO, Broadcast NBCSN

Eric Loughran led the U.S. with a sixth place finish in Friday’s FIS Aerials World Cup in Ruka, Finland, his tenth career top-six World Cup result. 

"The day was sweet," reflected Loughran on his result. "I landed every single jump going into Supers, which is pretty hard to do in our sport. I was on a roll there. Going into Super Finals knowing who was competing what, Bergy (Coach Eric Bergoust) and I decided to go for a bigger trick, a Full Full Double-Full. Unfortunately I went a little too big and had a crash."

Loughran stomped his Full Double-Full Full in the first finals round for a score of 121.24, qualifying him fourth position heading into the super final round. He reported feeling good in the air of his Full Full Double-Full in the Super Final, but came in too far back and didn’t stick the landing, earning a score of 87.78 for sixth place. "I'm going to need [that big] trick this year with how our sport has been progressing. In the Full Full Double-Full you come into a blind landing. It's one of the hardest tricks to land in our sport. I went for it. I stuck it [last season] in Kazakhstan but this one I had a little too much speed and went a bit big."

Russia’s Maxim Burov continued to dominate with his third-straight Aerials World Cup win. China went 2-3 with Zongyang Kia placing second and Guangpu Qi placing third. 

It was a tough day for the Americans with only two athletes qualifying to finals. Justin Schoenefeld joined Loughran in the first finals round. He went for a Full Double-Full Full but slapped back, earning a score of 79.65, and finished the day in 11th. Chris Lillis finished 18th. 

On the women’s side, Ukraine’s Anastasiya Novosad earned her first Aerials World Cup win. China’s Mengtao Xu came in second and Ukraine’s Olga Polyuk came in third. 

Ashley Caldwell finished 20th, Dani Loeb 23rd, Karenna Elliot 26th, Winter Vinecki 30th, Megan Nick 32nd and Kaila Kuhn 34th. 

Aerials competition continues Saturday with a one-jump World Cup followed by a Team event. 

Results
Women’s Aerials
Men’s Aerials

HOW TO WATCH
*All times EST

Saturday, Dec. 11, 2021

3:40 a.m. FIS Freestyle World Cup Women’s Aerials - LIVE, Ruka, FIN, Streaming Peacock

3:15 a.m. FIS Freestyle World Cup Women's Aerials - LIVE, Ruka, FIN, Ski and Snowboard Live

6:15 a.m. FIS Freestyle World Cup Men's Aerials - LIVE, Ruka, FIN, Ski and Snowboard Live, Streaming Peacock

9:30 a.m. FIS Freestyle World Cup Mixed Team Aerials - LIVE, Ruka, FIN, Ski and Snowboard Live, Streaming Peacock

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