Olympic champion Dara Howell advances to final at slopestyle World Cup event
Canada's Noah Morrison, Mark Hendrickson finished 1st in qualification runs
Canada's Dara Howell qualified for the final, placing third in her qualification heat at the second competition of the slopestyle World Cup season taking place in Seiser Alm, Italy on Thursday.
After her first run, the gold-medallist in ski slopestyle at Sochi 2014 was 15th, posting a score 51.66. But Howell, a native of Huntsville Ont., followed up with a 73.66 on her second run, placing her third in the best-of-two runs qualification format.
Coline Ballet Baz of France topped the qualification with a best-score of 82.00 while South Korean Mee Hyun Lee finished second (75.66).
The top six in the women's qualification heat advance.
Colline Ballet Baz coming up on top in the ladies' qualifications in <a href="https://twitter.com/seiseralm">@seiseralm</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/slopestyle?src=hash">#slopestyle</a> <a href="https://t.co/1m1MQEQP4L">pic.twitter.com/1m1MQEQP4L</a>
—@FISfreestyle
On the men's side, Canada's Noah Morrison set the highest score in the first men's qualification heat on Thursday.
Morrison, a Vernon, B.C. native, scored a 90.33 on his first run — good for top spot in the heat.
In the second qualification heat, Calgary's Mark Hendrickson placed first in the 24-man field with a 92.00 score.
The top three men in each qualification heat move on to the final, along with the best score outside of the top three.
The latter was the case for Canadian Max Moffatt, who also advanced to the final with an 85.33. Moffatt, despite finishing fourth in Heat 1, managed to reach the final.
.<a href="https://twitter.com/NoahMorrison2">@NoahMorrison2</a> setting the highest score in men's Heat 1. <a href="https://t.co/RI8uA7ZNWs">pic.twitter.com/RI8uA7ZNWs</a>
—@FISfreestyle
The finals are scheduled for Saturday at 5:30 a.m. ET.
There are over 100 skiers in qualifications, despite many top athletes in the World Cup standings missing due to the X Games taking place th is week.