MOGULS:

Kearney denies Heil gold in dramatic Cypress showdown

Feb. 13, 2010 — Gordie Bowles, SRC        

►Photos: Hannah Kearney, above (Gordie Bowles, SRC); Jenn Heil, below (Mike Ridewood, CFSA)

WEST VANCOUVER, B.C. — The monkey is not quite off the host nation’s back.

Jennifer Heil came close to delivering Canada’s first-ever Olympic gold on Canadian snow but had to settle for the silver medal after a conservative final run and a hard-charging performance by American Hannah Kearney.

Kearney scored higher than Heil in each category (turns, speed and air) under the lights at Cypress Mountain and claimed the gold medal with a final score of 26.63.

Heil, of Spruce Grove, Alberta, the gold medallist from the 2006 Torino Games, finished with a final score of 25.69, ahead of bronze medallist Shannon Bahrke (25.53), while Canadian upstart Chloe Dufour-Lapointe finished fifth.

“I did what I wanted to do and I'm really proud,” Heil said. “I felt like I was standing on the shoulders of so many Canadians. I felt like I had their wings on my back. This is Canada's medal."

Kristi Richards of Penticton, B.C., was fourth in qualifications and started the finals with an aggressive approach, but she came out of the first jump too fast and fell mid-course, finishing out of contention. “My ski got caught. It’s unfortunate but I’m really happy I pushed myself and finished,” Richards said.

The wet and cold conditions didn’t damper the Canadian spirit at Cypress — 25 kilometres north of Vancouver in the North Shore Mountains — as the large, boisterous crowd erupted when each of the three Canadians were introduced in the final. But the gold-medal drought continues. No Canadian had won gold at the two previous Olympics up north — 1976 in Montreal and 1988 in Calgary.

"It's so amazing, being at the Olympics in Canada. All my friends and family are here,” Heil said after placing second in the qualifying run a few hours earlier. Heil came into the Olympics with four straight victories in the World Cup and a great chance to make some history.

But Norwich, Vermont’s Kearney had some history of her own to atone for. Kearney was the defending world champion at the Torino Games in 2006 when she bobbled coming out of the gate, never got her bearings and finished 22nd — out of the finals and forced to watch Heil win it all from the bottom.

“I heard the roar of the crowd after Jenn’s (Heil) run and I knew that I had to have the run of my life,” Kearney said at a news conference shortly after the medal ceremony. “My first run was fast, borderline out of control. I wanted this medal.”

Earlier Saturday, North Americans had nailed down the top four and seven of the top nine spots in qualifying. Kearney, the 2009 overall World Cup champion, scored 25.96 to best Heil’s 25.50, with McPhie third and Richards fourth.

In the finals, Bahrke, the 2002 silver medallist, held the lead for much of the finals before Heil turned in her magnificent effort. That left just one competitor — Kearney — between Heil and the gold.

Kearney pulled off a back flip on her top jump and a 360-degree spin on her second, her legs knitted tightly together on both, the perfect example of the form and function judges love to see when they're handing out Olympic gold. Same scene as she tore through the slushy, rain-soaked moguls — knees pointed forward and down the hill and hands moving in rhythm with the bumps.

Logging the fastest time — 27.86 seconds — didn't hurt anything, and when Kearney made it across the finish line, she knew it — pumping her fists and waiting for the score that would prove to be golden.

“Holy smokes, it's just the coolest thing ever to pull it all together and be on the podium with my teammate (Kearney). You can't ask for much more as an athlete,” Bahrke said.

Americans Michelle Roark and Heather McPhie placed 17th and 18th, respectively, and Canadian veteran Richards fell to 20th in the finals.  SRC

— The Canadian Press contributed to this report

Cypress women’s Olympic moguls finals results

Rank	Bib	Athlete	Turn Score	Air Score	Speed Score	Total Score
1	3	KEARNEY Hannah	14.2	5.40	7.03	26.63
2	1	HEIL Jenn	13.7	4.98	7.01	25.69
3	4	BAHRKE Shannon	13.5	4.92	7.01	25.43
4	6	UEMURA Aiko	12.9	5.16	6.62	24.68
5	11	DUFOUR-LAPOINTE Chloe	12.7	4.93	6.24	23.87
6	7	MARBLER Margarita	13.0	4.32	6.37	23.69
7	13	STOLYAROVA Ekaterina	12.7	5.04	5.81	23.55
8	27	MURATA Arisa	12.5	4.56	6.16	23.22
9	22	RAKHIMOVA Regina	11.9	4.92	5.88	22.70
10	14	SCANZIO Deborah	11.8	4.32	6.07	22.19
11	19	GALYSHEVA Yulia	11.4	4.46	6.31	22.17
12	16	ITO Miki	11.6	4.44	5.59	21.63
13	26	CHERKASOVA Marina	11.3	4.08	5.71	21.09
14	20	RYBALOVA Darya	10.7	4.20	5.95	20.85
15	25	SEROVA Daria	11.1	4.18	5.56	20.84
16	9	SUDOVA Nikola	10.6	3.06	5.75	19.41
17	8	ROARK Michelle	5.9	4.71	5.29	15.90
18	2	MCPHIE Heather	4.8	3.90	5.82	14.52
19	29	SATOYA Tae	5.6	2.52	4.73	12.85
20	5	RICHARDS Kristi	1.6	2.76	0.00	4.36
ELIMINATED IN QUALIFICATION ROUND
21	28	SEO Jung-Hwa	11.3	3.96	5.62	20.88
22	23	RODIONOVA Yuliya	11.2	3.80	5.73	20.73
23	32	COX Britteny	10.7	4.02	5.15	19.87
24	33	KOYANDER Ellie	9.8	3.78	5.40	18.98
25	34	SUDOVA Sarka	10.3	3.66	4.59	18.55
26	31	BEDNARIK Nina	7.4	3.06	3.33	13.79
27	30	VACULIKOVA Tereza	0.3	1.20	0.00	1.50