Skiers Strut Stuff in Halfpipe and Slopestyle to Woo Olympics

PARK CITY, Utah -- Everyone was hoping for the best at the 2011 Freestyle World Ski Championships, where halfpipe skiing and slopestyle skiing made their debuts.

The International Olympic Committee, in need of a larger and younger audience, wants to add these hip sports to the lineup in the 2014 Games in Sochi, Russia. The athletes, who need Olympic credibility to beatify their sports, wanted to show they were worthy of inclusion. Park City Mountain Resort wanted to demonstrate that they hadn't lost their Olympic touch since snowboard halfpipe made its first appearance in the 2002 Games.

Everyone got their wish -- except for Simon Dumont, who once again had bad luck at this resort. Dumont is considered the top pro skier in the world, winning at X Games and other contests in both slopestyle and halfpipe. But back in 2007, he overshot a jump at PCMR by 80 feet, landing flat, breaking his pelvis in three places and rupturing his spleen (see video here). This time, the wind came up hard during the halfpipe finals. Dumont was in second place for the final heat, and looked to have nailed it all with his first hits -- a cork 900 to a right side 900 to a double flip 900. Then came a hard wind gust.

The photo to the right shows the exact moment he lost the gold medal.

Dumont was spotting his landing through his glowing goggles when the sudden gust of wind blew him off the course. He touched down on the transition, losing all momentum. He had to settle for the bronze.

In men's halfpipe, Micheal Riddle (Canada) won, followed by Kevin Rolland (France), then Dumont. Canada's Rosalind Groenewoud won women's pipe, followed by U.S. champ Jen Hudak in second and Canada's Keltie Hansen in third. Though other Americans didn't place in the medals, they populated the finals.

Earlier, PCMR, holding its first world class slopestyle event, pulled it off perfectly. There were flat down rails and boxes that zigged and zagged down the hill, and best of all, no injuries. Mike Jankowski, head coach for USSA halfpipe and slopestyle, was feeling great. Four U.S. men and four U.S. women had made the finals in slopestyle. He was even happier with the results, where new wunderkid Alex Schlopy (center, top pic) won, and USA's Sammy Carlson (right) took second. Australia's Russ Henshaw (left) was third. In women's slopestyle, USA's Keri Herman got bronze, coming in just behind Australia's Anna Segal in first and Canada's Kaya Turski in second.

Jankowski's face got animated as he explained why slopestyle keeps growing. "I think what slopestyle demonstrates is all around skills, with the rails and the jumps and being able to be creative. Make up your run and your own style in your run, you don't have to prequalify your jumps in slopestyle (like in freestyle aerials), you can pretty much drop in and surprise the judges, surprise the spectators by trying something new that's never been done before. They're free to make up their run as they go. Sometimes that means the athlete pushes their limits and that pushes the sport into a new level."

Watch for the Americans in 2014. "We have some of the most talented skiers and snowboarders in the world. We're going to go into Sochi with even more momentum," said Jankowski.