Calgary (AB), Canada – Olympian Emily Cook, of Belmont, Mass., geared up for this week’s VISA Freestyle International in Park City, Utah, with her fourth FIS Freestyle World Cup top-ten aerials finish in a row, taking seventh place on Sunday at the Canada Olympic Park in Calgary.

Mengtao Xu of China was the women’s winner, with Canada’s Olivier Rochon taking the men’s top spot for his second World Cup medal and his first gold. Extremely windy conditions and warm temperatures melting the kickers limited the competition at the Canada Olympic Park to a single winner-takes-all finals format.

Rochon, whose goal at the beginning of the season was to win one World Cup medal this year – a feat he already managed three weeks ago with a silver in Quebec — managed to hold his focus through the shifting weather conditions and landed himself on top of the podium at 125.67.

“It was such a tough day, the sun was coming in and out which was changing the speed on the course,” said the former gymnast, who qualified third. ““When it was my turn to go I stepped down because the sun was behind a cloud, but I still got way more air than I expected. I went so huge in the air that I landed three-quarters of the way down the landing hill. But, I landed perfectly so it was all good.”

Rochon, who now has a firm grip on the FIS yellow leader’s bib, bested Guangpu Qi and Zhongqing Liu of China, they finished in second and third, respectively.

“It’s pretty amazing,” said Rochon, “My first World Cup gold medal and I earned it at home in Canada, I couldn’t imagine anything better.”

The U.S. men were led by Dylan Ferguson, of Amesbury, Mass., in ninth place and Rochester, N.Y.’s Jonathan Lillis 12th in his first World Cup finals.

“We were really good in training today, but unfortunately we didn’t perform well in the competition,” admitted Todd Ossian, Aerials Head Coach for the U.S. Ski Team. “We were well prepared for the conditions, but the weather being a little crazy does affect things.”

On the women’s side Xu took gold at 98.52. Her teammate Shuang Cheng was second with a score of 92.35 and Olga Volkova of the Ukraine earned the bronze at 85.05.

There were no Canadian women in Sunday’s event. Allison Lee, the only other American entered finished in last place at 13th.

The VISA Freestyle International at Deer Valley Resort in Park City is the next stop for World Cup aerials action. Deer Valley will celebrate the 10th anniversary of the 2002 Olympic Winter Games with athlete autograph signings along Main St. in Park City.The U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association, in partnership with Deer Valley Resort, will host the annual Ice Men Clinic, where patrons can spend a day skiing with former Olympians and other notable U.S. Ski Team athletes.

“As a team going into Deer Valley, we’re looking really good,” asserts Ossian. “The biggest thing about Deer Valley is that it’s the best site, the most professional, and it has the biggest crowd. This is the most anticipated event of the season. It’s a huge confidence builder for the team.”

OFFICIAL RESULTS
FIS Freestyle World Cup
Calgary (AB), Canada – Jan. 29, 2012
Aerials

Women:

Men: