PARK CITY -- The competition is so fierce among women aerial skiers that the winner of Friday's World Cup at Deer Valley laid down a trick that only one other woman uses in competition.
"There are only two women in the world who have done that (triple) and you saw it tonight," said Lydia Lassila, a three-time Olympian from Australia. "That's a huge leap forward and it's going to change the scoring."
Lassila landed the triple in the qualifying round and earned the only triple-digit first-round score. Then she landed a slightly less difficult trick for another triple-digit score and a total of 220.91. She blew away the competition as Mengtao Xu, China, who also landed the rare trick in the finals, earned a total of 207 for second place. In third was Nina Li, who scored 204.84. China's women were outstanding, earning second through sixth place.
The highest finisher among American women was Lacy Schnoor, who finished ninth after falling backward on her landing. She scored 164.08.
Thomas sabo charms"I didn't get a good look at it in between and could tell exactly where I was in the air," said Schnoor, a native of Draper who has already brochure printing made the Olympic team. "I just pulled my feet in a little too much. I almost had it. But these are harder tricks for me, so it's great for me to come out and compete with them so when I get to Vancouver I have them down."
The fact that women are now capable of a variety of triples will change the tricks women use in winning competitions.
"Some girls are going to have to step it up because we're not stepping down," Lassila said with a laugh.
Her teammate, Jacqui Cooper, a five-time Olympian, said it's almost unbelievable how much the sport has evolved since she first started 20 years ago.
"I did a triple-twisting triple for the first time 10 years ago and this week there's been two girls try two new (triple) tricks," said the 37-year-old, who finished seventh. "It's a triple, but it's a variation and it's unbelievable. ... I think these women are going to force me into retirement. Maybe I need a bit of a nudge."
On the men's side, it was a familiar face atop the podium as Anton Kushnar, Belarus, the No. 1 man in the world, earned a score of 264.05 to win the event. Guangpu Qi, China, was second with a score of 255.87, while Dmitri Dashinski, Belarus, was third with a score of 252.69.
Clip on charmsThe top U.S. male finisher was Dylan Ferguson, who scored 245.63 and finished sixth, while three-time Olympian Jeret "Speedy" Peterson was 12th after he lost his skis as he tried to land the night's toughest jump, also known as the Hurricane.
He said the fact he secured his Olympic spot last month gives him the freedom to go for it. He attempted the Hurricane, which is five twists and three flips, in Torino, but failed to land it.
He plans to attempt the trick again in Vancouver.
"I don't think there is any difference," Peterson said. "I'm going to go for it. That's something I've always planned on doing. I know that I can land it."
The Freestyle World Cup continues tonight with a second mogul competition. The finals begin at 8 p.m. followed by fireworks. Admission is free.
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