Heil wins 3rd straight World Cup moguls
Canadian focuses on maximizing her performances in every race
A shaky bottom jump couldn't knock Jennifer Heil of Spruce Grove, Alta., off the top podium step on Thursday as she won the gold medal in women's moguls at a freestyle skiing World Cup competition in Park City, Utah.
It was Heil's third consecutive gold on the circuit and 24th career World Cup victory. She won twice last week in Calgary.
Heil and Heather McPhie of the U.S., tied for first place with 24.59 points each. Shannon Bahrke of the U.S., was third at 24.18.
"I caught an edge on the bottom air and that was a big mistake," said Heil, who will defend her Olympic title in less than a month. "I had a very low score for that back flip but the first three-quarters of my run was some of the best skiing I had ever done."
Heil isn't holding anything back in the stretch run to the Olympics.
"I feel really focused right now," she said. "I want to maximize my performances in every race. To continue to improve I just want to lay it all out on every course and eventually put it all together. It's always a challenge here but the fresh snow helped and made it just so much fun."
Audrey Robichaud of Quebec City was ninth, Chloe Dufour-Lapointe of Montreal finished 12th and her sister Maxime Dufour-Lapointe of Montreal placed 14th.
Kristi Richards of Summerland, B.C., with two medal performances this season on the circuit, missed a berth in the final by two spots, placing 18th in preliminaries.
Canadian 10th in men's event
In men's moguls, Vancouver-born Dale Begg-Smith of Australia also earned a third straight World Cup gold with a 26.12 score. Guilbaut Colas of France was second at 25.48 and Dmitriy Reiherd of Kazakhstan third at 25.10.
Warren Tanner of Grimsby, Ont., was the top Canadian in 10th place while Maxime Gingras of St-Hippolyte, Que., was 14th. Vincent Marquis of Quebec City missed a berth in the final by one spot, placing 17th in prelimaries.
Tanner didn't get the result he wanted as he continues his bid to earn an Olympic qualification.
"I need to be in the top five at this point," said Tanner, who was fourth after the prelims. "I got the result I deserved today. I wish I had put it down a little cleaner."
Competition continues Friday with men's and women's aerials.