Josh Daiek and Crystal Wright prevail in Kirkwood stop of 2012 Subaru Freeskiing World Tour
America’s Josh Daiek and Crystal Wright took top honours in the men’s and women’s field respectively at the final stop of the 2012 Subaru Freeskiing World Tour that went down this past weekend at Kirkwood Mountain Resort’s Cirque in California, America.
Both Daiek and Wright also took home the McConkey Cup that was reserved for the top male and female skier.
With an immense amount of local support cheering him up, Daiek began his run for victory while trailing behind France’s Guerlain Chicherit in the overall standings. He kicked-off his opening run with a big stomped cliff drop and went on to take the aerial
route. The run earned him a score of 72.83 points, which remained unbeatable throughout the course of the contest to eventually put him on the highest spot on the podium.
“Words can't even describe this,” said Daiek during his post-contest interview. “It's an amazing thing to win at your home mountain. To have it all come together, it's unreal.”
Squaw Valley’s Sean Collin finished just behind the Kirkwood local in second place with a score of 70.67 points. The lone telemarker in the event Jake Sakson rounded out the podium after finishing in third place by earning a 69.77 off his best run.
The competition in the women’s field turned out to be quite intense as well with the likes of Wright, Australia’s Natalie Segal and Germany’s Sonja Lercher putting on their best effort to try and secure top honours.
Wright and Angel Collinson were tied for first place in the overall standings for the 2011-12 Subaru Freeskiing World Tour rankings prior to the Kirkwood stop of the championship.
Looking to seal the deal in her favour, the Jackson Hole-based Wright put on a superb run that featured her trademark fast and smooth style. She hit various features while building her overall line, which included a technical air into a ravine exit. The
nicely put-together run earned her a 63.90 from the judges to put her in first place and thus crown her as the 2012 Subaru Freeskiing World Champion.
“This is a dream come true for me,” Wright said afterward. “This year it was really more of a battle and I really had to up my level of skiing, because all the girls are really getting good now. I wasn't even going to come to Kirkwood because I had a trip
planned, but obviously I'm glad I did.”
Collinson managed to secure runner-up place through her technical line and well-controlled skiing that earned her a score of 61.27 points. The result also placed her second in the overall Championship standings.
Segal finished with a score of 60.93 points, which proved sufficient to earn her third place and thus put her on the podium.
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