All eyes will be on Nina Li going into the women's aerials. She's the reigning world champion (and has been three times, in 2005, 2007 and 2009) and is also took Olympic silver in Turin.
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Olympic Contenders: Women's freestyle skiing aerials
- February 20, 2010 12:14 AM |
- By Erin Valois
Story provided by
Here is a look at Saturday's women's freestyle skiing aerials, which get under way at 1 p.m. ET.
The Contenders
All eyes will be on Nina Li going into the women's aerials. She's the reigning world champion (and has been three times, in 2005, 2007 and 2009) and is also took Olympic silver in Turin.
Her main competition will come from Australian Lydia Lassila, who will be hoping for a podium finish after a knee-injury kept her from claiming a medal in 2006. It's also important to note she has already won two World Cup aerial events in 2010.
Li's countrywomen Xinxin Guo and Mengtao Xu round out the prime contenders. They will undoubtedly be putting pressure on Lassila in their quest for Chinese podium domination in this event.
The Top Five (Current World Cup rankings)
1. Nina Li, China, 436 pts
2. Xinxin Guo, China, 346 pts
3. Mengtao Xu, China, 314 pts
4. Lydia Lassila, Australia, 259 pts
5. Xin Zhang, China, 254 pts
Canadian Medal Hopes
Don't hold your breath for Canada winning a medal from this event. Amber Peterson is Canada's top contender in women's aerials, but she hasn't had a history of strong finishes. Peterson is ranked 13th in World Cup standings, and to date, has only had one podium finish on that circuit (which came in 2006). In Turin, Peterson failed to advance past the qualifying round.
The Dark Horse
Jacqui Cooper has a slim chance of upsetting the main competitors here -- provided she doesn't crash. This will be the veteran Australia skier's fifth Olympic games. She was a favourite to win gold in two previous Winter Olympics, but accidents cut her dream short both times.
In 2002, she suffered a shattered knee in a training run, preventing her from even reaching Salt Lake City. She was able to at least compete in Turin in 2006, but crashed on both her runs. She's 37 now. With this potentially being her final Olympic Games, keep an eye out for her giving one last hurrah to reach the podium.
About the Author
- Bruce Arthur Bruce Arthur is the National Post's national sports columnist. A Vancouver native, he has been with the Post since 2001, and a columnist since 2005. He is covering his second Olympics, after the 2008 Games in Beijing. He expects these Games to be slightly less propagandistic, and for China to win slightly fewer medals.
- Joe O'Connor Joe O'Connor is a roving sports feature writer with an open-ended beat. He joined the National Post in 2002, and has spent the past seven years bouncing from sport to sport, offering fresh perspectives and delivering unique stories wherever he goes. Whether it has been getting Don Cherry to open up about his love life; George Chuvalo to talk about heartbreaking loss; or racing down the side of a mountain with former Crazy Canuck, Dave Irwin, the veteran Postie chases a story wherever it leads. Before joining the newspaper he was a two-time silver medalist at the National Magazine Awards. Vancouver will be his first Olympics.
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