Freestyle Ski slopestyle in Ushuaia

The first qualifying event for the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games in the new Olympic event of ski slopestyle was held at Cerro Castor, Ushuaia (ARG) on Friday 7th September with great success. Fifty-six skiers from 16 nations travelled to the “end of the world” (as Ushuaia is known as the most southern city of the globe), to compete in the first FIS Freestyle Ski World Cup slopestyle event of the season.

The World Cup competitions were part of the "End of the World Challenge" which also featured the first Super Continental Cup slopestyle in South American history.

In the men’s event, the podium was topped by Brit James Woods, followed by 21-year-old Henrik Harlaut of Sweden whilst 18-year-old Swiss Jonas Hunziker completed the top three. This was the first World Cup win for Great Britain in Freestyle Skiing since 1992, and the first in any FIS discipline since 2004.

In the ladies’ competition, American Keri Herman took the victory ahead of Swiss Eveline Bhend and 17-year-old Canadian Dara Howell. Herman won by a huge six-point margin to mark her first podium since 2011.

The competition was held in optimal snow and weather conditions on a challenging track built by Swedish expert Claes Hagstrom. Feedback from the athletes on the first Freestyle Ski World Cup in the Tierra del Fuego was very positive.

The Olympic qualifying period provides athletes with an opportunity to achieve the required FIS points in order to be eligible for Olympic selection. At the conclusion of the period the ranking determines the nations number of quota spots, whereby the selection of qualified athletes to fill the quota spots will be a decision of the respective National Olympic Committee (NOC). The next chance for athletes to compete in ski slopestyle will be on 11th January 2013 at Copper Mountain, Colorado (USA).

To stay informed visit www.fisfreestyle.com.

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