Freestyle Canada – This past weekend, our Canadian freestyle athletes took to the World Cup stage south of the border. Our moguls and aerials teams were hard at work in Deer Valley, Utah, while the slopestyle and halfpipe teams were battling tough conditions in Mammoth, California.
 
The moguls team entered the Deer Valley World Cup with confidence after their podium performances at the two Canadian World Cups, in Val St-Côme, Qc and Calgary, Ab. On Thursday evening, we watched Mikaël Kingsbury reclaim his title as the Deer Valley moguls World Cup champion, as well as Justine Dufour-Lapointe and Philippe Marquis finish second and third, respectively. This was Philippe’s first career podium in Deer Valley, and his first podium of the season.
 
On Saturday, Mikaël was gearing up to pull-off back-to-back wins in Deer Valley, a feat that he successfully accomplished in 2015. In classic style, Mikaël did not disappoint. He claimed his 37^th World Cup victory and 58^th podium finish on the World Cup circuit. He has now surpassed the legendary Edgar Grospiron’s record for the most World Cup podiums.
 
Teammate Marc-Antoine Gagnon finished second, losing to Mikaël in the big final. This second place performance is a milestone for Marc-Antoine, given his recent comeback to World Cup competition. On the women’s side, Andi Naude earned a silver medal in Saturday’s dual moguls event. This was her second World Cup podium of the season.
 
Canadian aerialists Olivier Rochon and Catrine Lavallée were the top Canadian finishers at the Deer Valley aerials World Cup. Olivier completed a Full-Double-Full-Full in qualifiers, but unfortunately just missed the cut for the super finals. This was Olivier’s first top-ten World Cup finish of the season. This result could really boost his confidence as he prepares for the next World Cup in Bokwang, South Korea.
 
In the pipe, the team was riding a high from Noah Bowman’s third place finish at X Games. Unfortunately, due to inclement weather at Mammoth Mountain, they weren’t able to run the men’s or women’s halfpipe finals. Consequently, the results from qualification were used as final results. Cassie Sharpe, Simon d’Artois and Roz Groenewoud had qualified sixth, seventh and eighth, respectively.
 
The slopestyle team also suffered significant delays and cancellations at Mammoth Mountain. Unfortunately, due to the same weather systems lingering in central California, the organizing committee was forced to cancel the men’s and women’s finals.
 
Next week, the slopestyle team is in Quebec City for the Jamboree and the remainder of the teams will head to Bokwang, South Korea. February 9 will mark the one-year countdown to the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea.

Upcoming Events (February)

• FIS Freestyle World Cup – February 9-12 – Quebec City – slopestyle, big air
• FIS Freestyle World Cup – February 10-18 – Bokwang – moguls, aerials, half-pipe
• FIS Freestyle World Cup – February 18-19 – Tazawako – moguls (single and duals)
• FIS Freestyle World Cup – February 25 – Minsk – aerials
• FIS Freestyle World Cup – February 25-26 – Thaiwoo – moguls

For more information and media inquiries please contact: 

Jenn Johnson, Director, Communications & Partnership
Cell: 403.797.3248
Email: jenn@freestylecanada.ski

Dominique Ladouceur, Manager, Athlete Relations
Cell: 514.576.2379
Email: dominique@freestylecanada.ski

Freestyle Canada is the governing body in Canada for the sport of Freestyle Skiing. With the support of its valued corporate sponsors along with the Government of Canada, Canadian Olympic Committee and Own the Podium, FC develops Olympic and world champions in all disciplines of the sport. For more information about FC, please visit www.freestylecanada.ski