Turin, Italy 2006 Winter Olympic Games

Olympic Freestyle Skiing Analysis

SAUZE d'OULX, Italy – When the World Cup season started, I didn't think the U.S. women's moguls team would be competitive. But they proved me wrong when Hannah Kearney and Michelle Roark started winning events. I began to believe we actually had a good women's team, especially with Kearney. I thought she was the girl to do it.

Apparently not. Kearney got tripped up three turns into her qualifying run Saturday, never recovered, and failed to make the finals.

So maybe I was right in my initial assessment of the team, but I'm surprised that none of the U.S. women reached the podium. In the end, it was their lack of experience that cost them. Shannon Bahrke was the veteran, having won the silver medal in 2002. But Bahrke hasn't returned to top form since breaking her jaw two years ago on a back flip. So, the team's hopes fell upon Kearny, but she failed. The good thing is that she's young and still has a few Olympics in her.

With Kearney out, it was up to Michelle Roark. She qualified for the final in fourth place, but she got a little too crazy on the top jump, got too much air and couldn't get her skis back under her. The run was fine, just a little too hot dog. Judges used to award points for the stuff she was doing – the wilder the run, the better. Now, they're looking for smoothness and perfection.

It takes a special person to be able to lay it down and perform when the pressure is on. Part of that is experience.

Defending gold medalist Kari Traa was able to draw upon her three previous Olympics and lay down a great run. She was clean, super fast, and she did the corked 720 – basically the "dinner roll."

Canadian Jennifer Heil, who was fourth in Salt Lake, edged Traa for the gold. Heil put up a run that was fast, but her air moves weren't as difficult as Traa's, and Traa skied better. Heil was a third of a second faster than Traa, and that helped a lot because sometimes that extra time gives the skiing a more dynamic look, and judges will award more points for the turns. Both looked surprised at the final results. Traa was pretty confident watching Heil's run, and had to believe she was going to be the first moguls skier, man or woman, to win back-to-back golds.

Heil also benefited from skiing last. That gave her some extra juice with the judges. The judges aren't immune to the building excitement and drama, and tend to save the bigger scores towards the end of the round. That extra push helped put Heil ahead of Traa.

Sandra Laoura of France had a great run, earning the first women's moguls medal for France. But Laoura lacked the overall package of airs that Traa did. Her style was good and her turns were dynamic. What she and Heil lack in air, they make up in style and technique. They looked smooth and dynamic, and they didn't make mistakes. In fact, all three medalists had error-free runs.

Sweden's Sara Kjellin had a great run, and did a front flip off the bottom jump, by far the hardest trick because of the blind landing. There's actually talk about banning the trick because it's so dangerous, but I think it should be rewarded more points because of its difficulty.

Overall, this was one of the most exciting and impressive women's competitions because of the level of their skiing and the difficulty of their tricks. Traa was the story of the day. It looked like, at the beginning of the season, that she had lost her touch, but Saturday she had the best run of the day. I probably would've given Traa the nod, but Heil delivered.

Updated on Saturday, Feb 11, 2006 9:10 pm, EST

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