BUKOVEL, UKRAINE (February 23, 2013) – Travis Gerrits of Milton, Ont. jumped to fifth position and was the best Canadian at the finals of the 2013 FIS Aerials World Cup circuit here today.

Edged out of the four-man super finals by two points with a finals score of 111.06 on his full, double full, full (quadruple twisting back flip), the 21-year-old Gerrits was disappointed.

“I really wanted to have that last jump in the final round, but I was a little slow and pulled my feet in, so my tips didn’t touch the landing the way the judges like,” he said.

However, the silver lining for Gerrits was his fifth place overall in the standings for this season, after having most of last year curtailed with an injury; and the fact that he landed his first “double-in” on snow here in training this week. The quadruple twisting back flip with two twists on the first flip is notoriously difficult because it’s hard to twist fast enough to get in two full rotations right off the jump. Gerrits has been learning the trick on the water ramps for three summers, but only put one down on snow this week.

“I was super excited to land that trick on snow, I really wish I had the chance to do it in the super final today, but in the end I’m very happy that I’ve made so much progress with my jumping this season and I have one more chance, at Worlds, to do the double-in on snow before the end of the year,” he said.

David Morris of Australia was today’s winner, with a super final score of 112.67; Dylan Ferguson of the US was second at 105.31 and Maxim Gustik of Belarus took the bronze at 94.77.

It was the first time the Ukraine has hosted an FIS World Cup and Canadian coach Dennis Capicik was very impressed by the facility and the organization of the event, “ It was a nice venue, a cool place and we were very pleasantly surprised,” he said, adding, “It’s great to have more countries host events on the aerial circuit and we are happy to support the Ukraine in this endeavor.”

Jean-Christophe André of Montreal finished in 15^th position in the qualification round and failed to advance to finals.

Last year’s FIS World Cup champion Olivier Rochon of Gatineau, Que. decided to rest a nagging groin injury and did not compete in preparation for World Championships in Norway in March.

On the women’s side, Emily Cook of the US earned the gold medal with a score of 83.89; Nadiya Didenko of the Ukraine won the silver in front of a large hometown crowd at 83.16; and, Tanja Schaerer of Switzerland was third at 79.75.

Canada’s lone female entry, Sabrina Guerin of Laval, Que. finished 14^th in the qualification round.

FIS freestyle action continues tomorrow with a dual mogul event in Inawashiro, Japan. Aerial action continues on March 7 at the World Championships in Voss, Norway.

For more information, contact CFSA Media Relations Manager Kelley Korbin at: kelleykorbin@freestyleski.com.

AERIALS WORLD CUP

February 23 – BUKOVEL, UKRAINE

Complete FIS World Cup Results:

http://www.fis-ski.com/uk/604/1228.html?event_id=31825&cal_suchsector=FS

Top 12 and Canadian Results:

WOMEN

Position	Name		Nation				Score
1	COOK Emily		USA				83.89
2	DIDENKO Nadiya		UKR				83.16
3	SCHAERER Tanja		SUI				79.75
4	MCKINNON Kiley		USA				77.43
Results from Final Heat 1
5	LEE Allison		USA				75.4
6	XU Sicun		CHN				71.4
7	MOKHNATSKA Nadiya		UKR				70.72
8	ARAPBAYEVA Zhibek		KAZ				67.86
Results from Final Heat 2
9	OLSEN Madison		USA				66.46
10	POLYUK Olga		UKR				64.75
11	NOVOSAD Anastasiya		UKR				54.85
12	ALDABERGENOVA Zhanbota		KAZ				49.3
Results from Qualifications
14	GUERIN Sabrina		Laval, QC				50.17

MEN

Position	Name		Nation				Score
1	MORRIS David		AUS			112.67
2	FERGUSON Dylan		USA			105.31
3	GUSTIK Maxim		BLR			94.77
4	LAMBERT Thomas		SUI			89.59
Results from Final Heat 1
5	GERRITS Travis		Milton, ON			111.06
6	ISOZ Andreas		SUI			110.18
7	ABRAMENKO Oleksandr		UKR			109.74
8	OSIPAU Denis		BLR			108.41
Results from Final Heat 2
9	WU Chao		CHN				91.59
10	DASHINSKI Dmitri		BLR				88.94
11	GRISHIN Alexei		BLR				86.73
12	LAMBERT Christopher		SUI				57.96
Results from Qualifications
15	ANDRE Jean-Christophe		Montreal, QC				82.21

Read more in our News Archives.

For more information, contact CFSA Media Relations Manager Kelley Korbin.

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Tags: Aerials Andre jean-christophe Freestyle Ski Sabrina Guérin Travis Gerrits ukraine world cup