Hannah Kearney takes bronze on Sochi moguls
US moguls skier Hannah Kearney finished third to Canada's Justine and Chloe Dufour-Lapointe. Hannah Kearney was trying to become the first woman to go back-to-back in 22-year history of Olympic moguls.
Canada's Justine Dufour-Lapointe, center, celebrates her gold medal in the women's moguls final, with her sister and silver medalist Chloe Dufour-Lapointe, left, and bronze medalist United States' Hannah Kearney, at the 2014 Winter Olympics, Saturday, Feb. 8, 2014, in Krasnaya Polyana, Russia.
(AP Photo/Sergei Grits)
Krasnaya Polyana, Russia.
The Dufour-Lapointe family of Canada will have a few things to share and compare when they get home from Russia.
Try Olympic gold and silver medals. Youngest sister Justine took the gold in women's moguls Saturday night and middle sister Chloe got the second-place prize.
Oldest sister Maxime also made it into the finals, where she finished 12th.
"The path we walked, we did this side-by-side," Maxime said. "These tears I'm crying, these tears are not of disappointment. They're tears of joy."
Over the past year, Justine Dufour-Lapointe has proven one of the few moguls skiers who could challenge American Hannah Kearney, who was the defending champion and also strung together 16 straight wins during a span from 2011-12.
On the biggest stage, the 19-year-old Justine more than challenged. She beat Kearney.
Going third-from-last, Justine set the bar with a straight, solid run — skis pointed straight downhill and the bright red knee pads that help the judges gauge the quality of the run moving together in unison. Her jumps — a 360-degree twist and a back layout — were simple and ramrod straight. She scored a 22.44 — a combination of her speed, her work through the moguls and 12.5 percent for each jump.
Chloe, 22, who finished fifth at the Vancouver Games and was the only sister with Olympic experience, came next. Her jumps were a bit more complex — they both involved crossing her skis — but the run itself was a little less clean. She scored 21.66.
Kearney went last, with a chance to become the first woman to go back-to-back in 22-year history of Olympic moguls. But it was her landing after the first jump, one she had trouble with during two earlier runs as well, that tripped her up. One ski went flailing up and she struggled to keep her balance.
Kearney's final jump, which includes a difficult grab of her ski, wasn't enough to make up for the earlier problems.
Everyone knew it and when the score was posted, the Canadian sisters screamed and hugged, while Kearney could only offer a resigned smile.
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