Park City, UT – In her first win in four years, Virginia’s Ashley Caldwell lit up the sky over Park City last night with a pair of triple flips, joining teammate Kiley McKinnon, of Madison, Conn., in the first 1-2 World Cup freestyle aerials finish for the U.S. women in 26 years. Mac Bohonnon, also of Madison, notched his second podium of the season, finishing second to a massive 138.50 points set by China’s Guangpu Qi.

Caldwell, a two-time Olympian at just 21 years old, was beaming after finding her way to the top for the first time since Lake Placid, N.Y. in January, 2011, following an excruciating two-year battle back from knee injuries. She did it in style as the only woman in the field to throw two triple flips. McKinnon, meanwhile, came in with a pair of very clean doubles to take the third podium of the season and her career, moving within two points of the World Cup aerials lead.

“I focused on doing what I know how to do and am really happy with my jumps,” said McKinnon. “It’s great to be on the podium with Ashley. It’s so fun jumping with her and I’m really happy for her.”

The 1-2 finish was the first for U.S. women since 1989, when Melanie Palenek and Jodie Spiegel accomplished the rare feat in Lake Placid and Åre, Sweden.

At one of the most popular venues in her sport, Caldwell took advantage of Deer Valley Resort’s home snow advantage, risking the higher degree of difficulty triple flips to build into her winning score. “This is the first time I’ve ever done lay double full full in contest and only the second time I’ve done full full full in contest, and the first time doing them together,” said Caldwell, who earned victory in front of thousands of fans under clear skies and in mild temperatures. “It’s really exciting for it to pay off.”

It was a pivotal win for Caldwell, who suffered several injuries in the lead-up to the Sochi Olympic Winter Games. It was her second career World Cup win.

“I am so excited. It’s been a while,” Caldwell acknowledged. “I took two years off for knee injuries. It’s really awesome to come back and be at the top again after those long years. And to be with Kiley is incredible.”

Bohonnon, who was on the podium in China before Christmas, put down a 128.51 on his final jump that could easily have won had it not been for the astounding performance of Qi, whose final jump was a double-full, full, double-full jump – a triple flip with five full rotations. The U.S. packed eight men into the 12-athlete final, the most ever for the team.

“We’ve been training for so long for this,” said Bohonnon. “We’ve got a really young team, but an incredibly talented team. To get three podiums in one night and do that in front of a hometown crowd is just unbelievable.”

All three athletes are products of the Team’s Elite Aerial Development Program, developed in the mid-2000s to introduce acrobatic athletes to freestyle aerials skiing. Caldwell was the first to break through from the program, with Bohonnon and McKinnon each now with three career  podiums.

With their stars training in Europe in preparation for the 2015 World Championships, only two young up-and-coming aerialists — one man and one woman — represented Canada at Deer Valley. Lewis Irving of Quebec City, making his World Cup debut at the age of 19, scored a 64.50 to finish in 15^th place. Melissa Corbo of Blainville, Quebec, competing in only her second World Cup event, scored a 43.47 to finish in 14^th place.

The U.S. aerialists depart today to join their Canadian counterparts for the FIS Freestyle World Ski Championships in Kreischberg, Austria, with training beginning Monday. The World Cup will resume after the Championships with a pair of events at the Putnam Lake Placid Freestyle Cup in Lake Placid Jan. 30-31. Moguls are on tap at the Visa Freestyle International Friday night at Deer Valley Resort.

OFFICIAL RESULTS
FIS Freestyle Ski World Cup
Visa Freestyle International – Deer Valley Resort – Park City, UT
Jan. 8, 2015

Women’s Aerials

Men’s Aerials