|
|
FREESTYLE SKIING
Norway’s
Kari Traa scored a narrow victory over Shannon Bahrke of the United
States in women’s moguls, and Finland’s Janne Lahtela defeated
American Travis Mayer for gold in men’s moguls. In the latter, the
post-event chatter surrounded American Jonny Moseley’s innovative
Dinner Roll, which netted the Nagano gold medalist fourth place.
Australia’s Alisa Camplin came from behind to win women’s aerials
with a clean full double full, pushing Canadians Veronica Brenner
and Deidra Dionne to silver and bronze, respectively. Ales Valenta
of the Czech Republic landed a historic double full-double
full-full, leaping from fifth to first as Joe Pack of the United
States won his country’s third freestyle silver.
MEN
MOGULS |
|
Janne Lahtela (FIN) |
|
|
Travis Mayer (USA) |
|
|
|
Richard Gay (FRA) |
|
AERIALS |
|
Ales Valenta (CZE) |
|
|
Joe Pack (USA) |
|
|
|
Alexei Grichin (BLR) |
WOMEN
MOGULS |
|
Kari Traa (NOR) |
|
|
Shannon Bahrke (USA) |
|
|
|
Tae Satoya (JPN) |
|
AERIALS |
|
Alisa Camplin (AUS) |
|
|
Veronica Brenner (CAN) |
|
|
|
Deidra Dionne (CAN) |
|
MEDAL TALLY |
||||
|
|
|
|
Total |
Australia |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
Czech |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
Finland |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
Norway |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
United States |
0 |
3 |
0 |
3 |
Canada |
0 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
Belarus |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
France |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
Japan |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
Total |
4 |
4 |
4 |
12 |
VENUE & EVENTS
Deer Valley
Resort
Deer Valley
resort is located about 30 minutes southeast of Salt Lake City near
Park City. Built in 1981, the Deer Valley resort is about 48 km (30
mi) from downtown Salt Lake City in the historic mining town of Park
City. It is spread over four mountains: Empire Canyon, Flagstaff,
Bald and Bald Eagle. Deer Valley boasts 84 ski runs and six bowls
that provide a range of skiing from novice to expert. Deer Valley
sits at a base of 2,002 meters (6,568 ft.) and has a summit of 2,917
meters (9,570 feet) with an overall vertical drop of 914 meters
(2,999 ft.).
During the 2002 Olympic Winter Games, the mountain will accommodate
20,000 spectators for the freestyle and alpine slalom skiing events.
Freestyle skiing, which combines skiing with acrobatics, is made up of two disciplines at the Olympics: moguls and aerials. In moguls, competitors are judged by their ability to descend a slope that is heavily covered with snow bumps (moguls). During the first round, scores are based on speed, technique and the quality in which they execute many carefully calculated quick turns. The top-16 qualifiers proceed to the finals, which are either a one-run or dual-format competition. During the finals, which are performed to music, skiers are judged on skill, creativity and gracefulness.
The
aerial event requires competitors to complete a number of acrobatic
maneuvers during the few seconds they are airborne after soaring off
a specially prepared jump. Skiers are graded
by seven judges on technique and form (50 percent), takeoff and
height (20 percent) and on landing (30 percent). Upright and
inverted aerials are the most-common types used in competitions. In
upright aerials, the skier's head must stay above his/her feet at
all times. Inverted aerials include flips and twists with numerous
rotations.
Moguls: Athletes "dance" through tough downhill terrain and
over bumps on a steep slope. It's very acrobatic.
Aerials: Athletes show off their agility by using kickers of
various sizes and shapes to somersault or perform twists in the air.
