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HARBIN, China (Feb. 15) - Olympic silver medalist Joe Pack (Park City, UT) took
things down a notch Sunday on his final jump and stuck his landing to finish second, his first
podium of the season, behind World Cup leader Steve Omischl of Canada while Australian Lydia
Ierodiaconou won the women's event concluding the historic first World Cup skiing events in
China. Kate Reed (Montrose, CO) was ninth.
Omischl received 246.71 points for his two jumps and Pack, rounding into form after nursing
knee and back problems through most of the preseason, had 237.68. It's his first top-3 result
since ending the 2003 season with a third-place finish in Spindleruv Mlyn, Czech Republic.
Pack was back on the podium in Harbin.
(Photo by Darcy Downs)
Ierodiaconou, ending teammate Alisa Camplin's four-meet winning streak, had 193.82 points
to 177.29 for Russian Anna Zukal with Camplin, the women's points leader, third. Reed, who
dragged a hand on her second landing, was ninth with 156.12.
"That was the old Pack out there today," said U.S. Head Coach Jeff Wintersteen. "You could
see it in his confidence. It's been getting better every competition. He's got his takeoff back
and he keeps getting better and better."
"I was feeling it all day," Pack said. "It was cold - pretty windy at times - but it was fun.
"I've got my confidence and I'm just looking to have fun. The results are coming."
He said judges' low-scoring on a "double-in," one of the quad-twisting triples (four twists,
three flips), convinced him to drop back to a lay, double-full full (three twists, three flips)
for his finals jump. "They're just not giving it the scores it should get - nobody's getting it
- so I dropped back," Pack explained.
His podium lifted Pack into fifth place in the World Cup standings. Reed is 10th in the
women's points.
Kelly Hilliman (Tonawanda, NY), fourth Saturday in the first World Cup skiing event in the world's
most populous nation, and Jeret Peterson (Boise, ID) each crashed in their semifinals jump. Hilliman
finished 20th and Peterson 23rd.
The next aerials World Cup action is Feb. 28 in Spindleruv Mlyn with World Cup Finals March 10
in Sestriere, Italy.
FREESTYLE WORLD CUP
Long-zhu Ski Area
Harbin, CHN - Feb. 15
Aerials (12 make finals)
Men
1. Steve Omischl, Canada, 246.71 points
2. Joe Pack, Park City, Utah, 237.68
3. Sen Qiu, China, 233.61
4. Kyle Nissen, Canada, 232.51
5. Warren Shouldice, Canada, 232.39
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23. Jeret Peterson, Boise, Idaho
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Women
1. Lydia Ierodiaconou, Australia, 193.82
2. Anna zukal, Russia, 177.29
3. Alisa Camplin, Australia, 172.70
4. Jiao Wang, China, 164.18
5. Shuyao Song, China, 161.34
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9. Kate Reed, Montrose, Colo., 156.12
20. Kelly Hilliman, Tonawanda, N.Y.
For complete results and World Cup standings, go to: http://www.fis-ski.com/calendar/event.php?id=12295
Source: US Ski Team
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