Outtrim Nabs First Season Podium
CALGARY, AB (Jan. 26) - Eliza Outtrim (Hamden, CT) took her first World Cup podium of the season on a steep course in Calgary. Outtrim, who thrives on steep, icy runs, was able to stay in control without sacrificing her high degree of difficulty jumps. Justine Dufour-Lapointe and Mikael Kingsbury of Canada took the wins. The moguls team heads back to the U.S. for the second and final domestic World Cup of the season, the Visa Freestyle International at Deer Valley.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Eliza Outtrim (Hamden, CT) took third to earn her first podium of the season and third of her career.
- Outtrim's top air was a 360 and her bottom air was a back-X.
- Olympic Champion, Hannah Kearney (Norwich, VT) who led in the qualification round and the semi final round, ended the day in fifth.
- Bradley Wilson (Butte, MT) was the top U.S. man in sixth, his third top 10 of the season.
- The U.S. had four men and four women move into the final round utilizing the new Olympic format where the top six from the round of 16 move into a finals round.
- Heather McPhie, who ended the day in 26th, dropped out of the top spot in the World Cup standings after an icy course threw her off after the first air
- The U.S. has two men (Pat Deneen, Bryon Wilson) in the top four and three women (McPhie, Kearney, Heidi Kloser) in the top six in the World Cup standings.
- Outtrim finished last season ranked eighth in the FIS Freestyle World Cup moguls standings
- The moguls team heads back to the U.S. for the second and final domestic World Cup of the season, the Visa Freestyle International, at Deer Valley kicking off on Thursday.
Eliza Outtrim
Its been a tough start to the season for me, so I am thrilled about the results. It is my first third place finish on the World Cup circuit and only my third career podium.
The course was very difficult, particularly a few bumps in the middle section where the course gets steep but my training prepared me for it. I have been training strongly and have been disappointed to feel as though my results haven't reflected my overall training. So this podium feels that much better. I'm excited to take this result into Deer Valley this week.
Garth Hager, Moguls Coach
It was a challenging end to the day, because most of the team went out and skied really well from training thought the qualification rounds. The course got a lot tricker as the day went on. The middle section caught a lot of people of guard. The steep, icy, sharp moguls were right in the middle section - the most important section of the course. That middle section is what took out Heather, Hannah and Patrick.
Eliza skied really well today. She was in a good position going to finals and had her best 360's of the season today in the competition. She was trusting her skiing and going big on the bottom air. This kind of course really highlights what she's good at - solid sharp turns.