FREESTYLE SKIING: China sweeps Aerials Globes; Kingsbury wins eighth straight Moguls title

The 2018-19 World Cup Moguls podium, with winners Mikael Kingsbury (CAN) and Perrine Laffont (FRA) in the center. (Photo: FIS)

The weather was not always cooperative, but the seasonal prizes in the Aerials and Moguls divisions were confirmed over the weekend.

In the Aerials finale in China, 19-year-old Jiaxu Sun, who won a World Championships silver in the Mixed Aerials in February, came through with wins in both men’s competitions, but the seasonal title went to countryman Xindi Wang, his first career title.

The women’s Crystal Globe was won by veteran Mengtao Xu, who was fourth and first in the two events over the weekend. It’s Xu’s third seasonal title in a row.

In the Moguls events in Kazakhstan, the Sunday Dual Moguls event was snowed out, leaving Saturday’s winner Ikuma Horishima (JPN) and Yulia Galysheva (KAZ) as the last winners of the campaign. But the seasonal winners were Canada’s Mikael Kingsbury – his eighth straight – and France’s Perrine Laffont, her second consecutive World Cup Moguls title. Summaries:

FIS Freestyle World Cup
Shimao Lotus Mountain (CHN) ~ 2-3 March 2019
(Full results here)

Men’s Aerials I: 1. Jiaxu Sun (CHN), 126.11; 2. Xindi Wang (CHN), 125.22; 3. Eric Loughran (USA), 123.45; 4. Longxiao Yang (CHN), 99.40; 5. Anton Kushnir (BLR), 99.09.

Men’s Aerials II: 1. Sun (CHN), 123.90; 2. Noe Roth (SUI), 123.01; 3. Kushnir (BLR), 121.72; 4. Wang (CHN), 103.10; 5. Yang (CHN), 101.16. Also in the top 10: 6. Nick Novak (USA), 96.46; … 9. Loughran (USA), 91.15; 10. Justin Schoenefeld (USA), 90.71.

Men’s Aerials Final Standings: 1. Xindi Wang (CHN), 316; 2. Jiaxu Sun (CHN), 298; 3. Anton Kushnir (BLR), 249; 4. Maxim Burov (RUS), 236; 5. Stanislav Nikitin (RUS), 220. Also in the top 10: 7. Eric Loughran (USA), 150; 8. Christopher Lillis (USA), 136; … 10. Justin Schoenefeld (USA), 120.

Women’s Aerials I: 1. Laura Peel (AUS), 96.58; 2. Sicun Xu (CHN), 81.78; 3. Ashley Caldwell (USA), 81.78; 4. Mengtao Xu (CHN), 81.07; 5. Olga Polyuk (UKR), 78.88. Also: 6. Madison Varmette (USA), 74.24.

Women’s Aerials II: 1.M. Xu (CHN), 101.15; 2. Caldwell (USA), 93.41; 3. S. Xu (CHN), 90.40; 4. Varmette (USA), 82.53; 5. Polyuk (UKR), 81.90. Also: 6. Morgan Northrup (USA), 80.95; 7. Megan Nick (USA), 79.06; 8. Kaila Kuhn (USA), 76.56.

Women’s Aerials Final Standings: 1. Mengtao Xu (CHN), 410; 2. Sicun Xu (CHN), 299; 3. Laura Peel (AUS), 256; 4. Ashley Caldwell (USA), 240; 5. Qi Shao (CHN), 202. Also in the top 10: 6. Madison Varmette (USA), 197; 7. Winter Vinecki (USA), 156; … 10. Megan Nick (USA), 125.

Team Aerials: 1. China (M. Xu, Sun, Wang), 299.06; 2. China, 290.05; 3. China, 260.08; 4. United States (Winter Vinecki, Eric Loughran, Justin Schoenefeld), 258.54; 5. United States (Ashley Caldwell, Chris Lillis, Jon Lillis), 218.96.

FIS Freestyle World Cup
Shymbulak (KAZ) ~ 2-3 March 2019
(Full results here)

Men’s Moguls: 1. Ikuma Horishima (JPN), 81.72; 2. Mikael Kingsbury (CAN), 79.37; 3. Walter Wallberg (SWE), 78.67; 4. Daichi Hara (JPN), 78.03; 5. Ludvig Fjallstrom (SWE), 71.20.

Men’s Moguls Final Standings: 1. Mikael Kingsbury (CAN), 825; 2. Ikuma Horishima (JPN), 517; 3. Benjamin Cavet (FRA), 470; 4. Walter Wallberg (SWE), 461; 5. Matt Graham (AUS), 343. Also in the top 10: 7. Bradley Wilson (USA), 303; … 8. Casey Andringa (USA), 206.

Women’s Moguls: 1. Yulia Galysheva (KAZ), 79.69; 2. Perrine Laffont (FRA), 79.11; 3. Justine Dufour-Lapointe (CAN), 76.64; 4. Junko Hoshino (JPN), 75.91; 5. Jaelin Kauf (USA), 53.71. Also: 6. Olivia Giaccio (USA), 14.00.

Women’s Moguls Final Standings: 1. Perrine Laffont (FRA), 780; 2. Jaelin Kauf (USA), 570; 3. Jakara Anthony (AUS), 545; 4. Yulia Galysheva (KAZ), 533; 5. Tess Johnson (USA), 349.