Winter Vinecki of the United States celebrates after the final of Women's Aerials at 2023-2024 FIS Freestyle Ski Aerial World Cup in Changchun, capital of northeast China's Jilin Province, Dec. 16, 2023. (Xinhua/Yan Linyun)
CHANGCHUN, China, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- Winter Vinecki of the United States bounced back from a disappointing performance in Ruka by easing to victory in the second stop of the 2023/24 aerials World Cup tour in Changchun, China on Saturday.
Vinecki struggled with her triple flips in Ruka in the opener of the 2023/24 World Cup tour but dominated both rounds of the finals in Changchun. She first landed a Lay-Tuck-Full and then sealed her victory with a Lay-Full-Full with a total of 94.25 points.
China's Kong Fanyu took the silver with 81.42 points from a double Full-Full, while Australia's Laura Peel finished third by 80.96 points.
"It was a tough weather out here today. I'm super exciting to put one trophy to my feet," said Vinecki.
"After this competition I'll go home, and I'll get lots of good training. I'm looking forward to keeping the same degree of difficulty for the rest of the competitions this year, but make it even nicer," she added.
With this victory, Vinecki now leads the women's aerials standings with 132 points after two competitions, followed by Australia's Danielle Scott and Laura Peel with 120 and 110 points, respectively.
The men's competition saw Pirmin Werner of Switzerland, who finished second in Ruka, grab the title with 122.62 points from a double Full-Full-Full trick.
Christopher Lillis of the United States also performed a double Full-Full-Full, but his score was slightly lower than Werner, finishing second with 122.17 points.
The bronze went to China's Li Tianma, who landed a Full double Full-Full to earn 121.68 points. It marks his career's second World Cup top-3 finish.
Olympic champion and Ruka stop winner Qi Guangpu of China led the final's first run with 123.45 points. But he only got 96.38 points in the second run due to an awful landing.
"I showcased my training level today. There are still some minor technical issues that I will continue to adjust in the upcoming training sessions," said Li Tianma after the competition.
After Saturday's victory and two podium finishes so far in the 2023/24 season, Werner leads the men's aerials World Cup standings with 180 points. Qi is in second place with 140 points, followed by Lillis with 130 points.
The aerials excitement in Changchun continues on Sunday with the mixed team event.
This event marks the first international aerials competition in China since the 2022 Olympic Winter Games. A total of 98 athletes entered this competition. ■
Winter Vinecki (C) of the United States, Kong Fanyu of China (L) and Laura Peel of Australia react during the medal ceremony for the final of Women's Aerials at 2023-2024 FIS Freestyle Ski Aerial World Cup in Changchun, capital of northeast China's Jilin Province, Dec. 16, 2023. (Xinhua/Yan Linyun)
Laura Peel of Australia competes during the final of Women's Aerials at 2023-2024 FIS Freestyle Ski Aerial World Cup in Changchun, capital of northeast China's Jilin Province, Dec. 16, 2023. (Xinhua/Yan Linyun)
Kong Fanyu of China competes during the final of Women's Aerials at 2023-2024 FIS Freestyle Ski Aerial World Cup in Changchun, capital of northeast China's Jilin Province, Dec. 16, 2023. (Xinhua/Yan Linyun)
Kong Fanyu of China celebrates after the final of Women's Aerials at 2023-2024 FIS Freestyle Ski Aerial World Cup in Changchun, capital of northeast China's Jilin Province, Dec. 16, 2023. (Xinhua/Yan Linyun)
Winter Vinecki of the United States competes during the final of Women's Aerials at 2023-2024 FIS Freestyle Ski Aerial World Cup in Changchun, capital of northeast China's Jilin Province, Dec. 16, 2023. (Xinhua/Yan Linyun)
Kong Fanyu of China competes during the final of Women's Aerials at 2023-2024 FIS Freestyle Ski Aerial World Cup in Changchun, capital of northeast China's Jilin Province, Dec. 16, 2023. (Xinhua/Yan Linyun)
Laura Peel of Australia competes during the final of Women's Aerials at 2023-2024 FIS Freestyle Ski Aerial World Cup in Changchun, capital of northeast China's Jilin Province, Dec. 16, 2023. (Xinhua/Yan Linyun)
