Canadian Heil takes moguls; Kearney fails to qualify

[OMEN]

Jennifer Heil, who has claimed the World Cup the last two years, won on her last run.
SAUZE d' OULX (AP) -- Canadian Jennifer Heil won the gold medal in Olympic moguls, while the American women were shut out Saturday, a surprising result for the world's deepest team.

Heil, skiing the last run of the day, earned 26.5 points, enough to beat defending champion Kari Traa of Norway by 0.85. Sandra Laoura of France won the bronze.

America's best finisher was Shannon Bahrke, who wound up in 10th place. But the country's best skier in this discipline didn't even compete Saturday night: Hannah Kearney had a terrible run in qualifying earlier in the day and didn't make it to the finals.

Michelle Roark was America's last chance, but neither of her jumps were great and she bobbled her way down the moguls after an awkward landing on her first air. She finished 18th and was smiling afterward, but recognized the disappointment.

"There's really no excuse for our poor performance and we're so sorry," she said.

Heil's jumps -- a 360-degree spin and a backflip with her skis crossed -- weren't as difficult as those that Traa performed. But the Canadian, the World Cup champion the last two years and leading the standings again this season, gets down the hill faster than most and handles the moguls better.

Speed and form on the moguls count for 75 percent, which outweighed Traa's "D-Spin" on the top ramp -- a double-twisting jump in which her body goes nearly parallel to the mountain.

"I just felt so well-prepared," Heil said. "I was more relaxed than I've ever been in the start gate, which actually surprised me. But I knew it was just a sign I was ready to go out."

With Heil standing atop the winner's platform for the ceremony, the announcer introduced the winner as being from the United States. The Canadian's mouth went agape, and the crowd booed and groaned before the mistake was quickly corrected -- a final twist of the knife for the United States women on a day when nearly everyone expected them to perform much better.

That Bahrke, the silver medalist in 2002, and 11th-place Jillian Vogtli weren't on the medal stand might not have been so shocking. What happened to Kearney, however, was a stunner.

Her day was over almost as soon as it began, when her right ski kicked up on only the second turn of her run. She landed awkwardly after her first jump, and that caused her to ram through the moguls -- not around them -- for the next several turns.

"I don't know. I messed up," she said. "I was shaky through those moguls. I tried to gain my composure and finish the run."

She watched the finals from the bottom of the hill, a headband replacing her ski helmet and her hair bunched at the top in a ponytail instead of the long braids she usually sports.

America's last chance was Roark, who finished fourth in qualifying and was coming off two recent World Cup wins.

Pressing because Traa's score was so high, Roark got tripped up after her first backflip and came barreling straight through the moguls instead of between them. She couldn't recover from there and barely broke 20.

"I'd rather give it my all and come in last than not give it my all and come in fourth," Roark said, smiling.

A bit later, after being consoled, some tears started to fall for the 31-year-old skier who acknowledged she would soon be moving out of skiing, ending her career as part of an unexpected disappointment to start these games.

"I'd say it would be a bit of a surprise," Vogtli said of the prospect of getting shut out, a few minutes before Roark's final run. "We've definitely got the talent and incredible depth."

Associated Press.

[LionDen]

lol ... love the announcer messing up where Heil was from.