Bobby Brown and Ashley Battersby triumphant in Big Air finals: 2011 World Ski Invitational
The final of Association of Freeskiing Professionals (AFP) World Championships’ second 2011 World Ski Invitational (WSI) contest, which is the Big Air, went down on Saturday, April 23, in Whistler, Blackcomb, Canada. Continuing to display his excellent form,
America’s Bobby Brown secured the highest spot on the podium for the second time in just three days by prevailing in the men’s field. The podium was rounded out by Sweden’s Henrik Harlaut and Canada’s Vincent Gagnier, who finished in the second and third place
respectively.
In the women’s field, America’s Ashley Battersby pulled off the nights’ most impressive trick to clinch the title. Canada’s Kaya Turski finished in the second place, while reigning International Ski Federation (FIS) World Champion from Australia, Anna Segal,
rounded out the podium after finishing in the third place.
The Big Air contest kicked off on Saturday night with the women’s finals and men’s qualification rounds running simultaneously.
The women skiers were featured in a direct two-jump final showdown. Battersby dropped in first to set the final in motion. In her very first run, she pulled off an amazing switch 720. The run remained unbeatable throughout the night and saw her off to the
top spot on the podium.
“I haven't gotten a win since the Breckenridge Dew Tour in December,” Battersby said in a post-victory interview. “I've had four sixth places in the last contests I was in [before this week], so right now, I feel really good. I got up there and I skied my
best.”
Turski, who was high on confidence because of her victory in the slopestyle contest two days earlier, managed to get on the podium once again after pulling off a switch 720 as well. Segal grabbed the last remaining spot on the podium with her impressive
cork 720 in her second run of the night.
On the other hand, the men’s field started off with an impressive line-up of 25 skiers. However, the qualification round eliminated 15 skiers and only 10 athletes progressed to the super-finals for the final showdown. AFP’s top ranked skier, Simon Dumont,
along with Gus Kenworthy, who’s ranked second, failed to find a place in the final 10.
The three-run final battle remained real intense, with the men executing spectacular tricks. However, in the end it was Brown who walked away with the win. After crashing down in his first and second run, he came back really strongly in the third with a
clean switch double misty 1260. The trick sealed the fate of the men’s field. Brown got to take home the keys to a brand new 2011 Chevy Cruze. This was his second victory in a span of three days, the first coming in Slopestyle on April 21.
“It's been an awesome week in Whistler,” Brown wrote on a social networking and micro-blogging website, Twitter. “[I] just won the big air and won a car!”
Harlaut grabbed the second place in the contest with his double cork 1260, while Gagnier’s forward 1260 with an octo-grab allowed him to round out the top three.
With the Big Air contest now wrapped, the WSI is now left with the final contest, the Superpipe, which is scheduled to be held on Sunday, April 24.
Tags: