by Peter Hines |
U.S. Soars to two World Cup Aerial Medals in Lake Placid |
LAKE PLACID, N.Y. --- American Ashley Caldwell (Lake Placid, N.Y.) wowed her hometown crowd winning Friday's, Jan. 21, FIS Nature Valley Freestyle World Cup women's aerial event, held in Lake Placid, N.Y. The 17-year-old performed a full, double, full; one of the most technical jumps in the second round en route to her first-career World Cup medal, gold. Caldwell's two-round score was 187.65 points.
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Photo courtesy ORDA. |
| American Ashley Caldwell (Lake Placid, N.Y.) training Thursday, Jan. 20, getting ready for Friday's aerials competition at Lake Placid's Olympic Jumping Complex. |
"I hadn't landed this jump in 10 tries until yesterday," said the 2010 Olympian, who could hardly contain her excitement. "I am super excited to put two down on my feet. It is unbelievable to get on the podium this year and exceed all of my expectations."
Belarus's Alla Tsuper, who had been the leader going into the final round, earned silver with a total score of 186.42, while China's Mengtao Xu, the current women's aerials World Cup leader, was third with 183.83 points.
Ryan St. Onge (Park City, Utah) claimed the United States' second medal Friday, silver in the men's event. The two-time Olympian and reigning world champion finished his two jumps with 246.21 points.
China's Guangpu Ql claimed the gold medal, while Belarus' Anton Kushnir finished in the bronze medal spot. Ql's two jumps totaled 250.70 points, while Kushnir earned 241.42 points.
