Canada misses podium in men's aerials
Calgary's Nissen finishes 5th, Grishin of Belarus wins gold
Last Updated: Thursday, February 25, 2010 | 11:04 PM ET
By Mihira Lakshman, CBC Sports
Kyle Nissen of Calgary spins through the air during his first jump in the men's aerials final on Thursday. (Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press)Calgary's Kyle Nissen found himself in the gold medal position after his first of two jumps, but couldn't nail his second attempt, dropping to fifth place in the men's aerials competition at Cypress Mountain on Thursday night.
Alexei Grishin of Belarus won the gold, with a two-jump combined score of 248.41 points.
American Jeret Peterson took the silver in 247.21, while China's Zhongqing Liu claimed the bronze with 242.53.
Nissen finished the competition with a score of 239.31, but he was the leader after his opening-jump score of 126.92.
As the the first-round leader, he was the last skier down the hill for the second jump. But with gold well within his reach, he struggled with his take-off and his landing on his final jump.
It's a situation that he should have been able to convert into a podium finish, Nissen acknowledged.
"Yeah, if I needed to put down a [second-jump score of] 116 to win the Olmypics, it's should be something that I should be able to do," he told CTV, disappointment evident on his face.
Nissen's final jump scored only 112.39, 11th out of the 12 finalists for that round.
"You're always happy when you land a jump, but then that initial euphoria wears off and you start looking at the replay," Nissen said.
"And it didn't feel like an amazing jump in the air. It was good, but once I saw it on the replay I knew it would be tight to get me on the podium, and it landed me fifth."
Two other Canadians had also qualified for the final.
Steve Omischl of North Bay, Ont., was eighth in 233.66. He landed a decent second jump, but it wasn't enough to make an impact in the standings.
Calgary's Warren Shouldice ended up 10th in 223.30, and his story was the reverse of Nissen's.
Shouldice took himself out of contention by botching the landing on his first jump, falling backwards, and smacking the back of his head on the snow. His second jump, however, was spectacular, earning a score of 129.27, highest out of the 12 competitors in the final round.
