Olympic Winter Institute (OWIA) and Victorian Institute of Sport (VIS) athlete David Morris is on top of the world after the opening round of the 2015/16 FIS Men’s Aerials World Cup.
Morris is the overall leader after another magnificent performance on Day two in Beijing.
After taking out third place on Saturday in the opening Men’s individual event of the season, Morris was back in action on Sunday night (Australian time) competing in the Team’s event, finishing second overall in the Men’s section.
This was enough for Morris to secure the overall lead in the World Cup standings, and therefore complete a remarkable return to competition, after sitting out the 2014/15 season.
The 2014 Sochi Olympic Silver Medallist was naturally ecstatic at the conclusion of the official presentations.
“I couldn’t have asked for a much better start to the season,” Morris said. “I felt that I had to prove something upon returning and make sure everyone knew I still meant business, and everything went perfectly to plan with another podium today.”
“It’s my first gold bib and I’m just very thankful to my coaches and support staff for getting me through a tough two days of competition,” Morris added.
Morris was also full of praise for his new coach Jeff Bean.
“A lot of hard work with Jeff has paid off and the results speak for themselves,” a proud Morris stated.
It was also a positive start to the World Cup campaign for our Ladies’ with Danielle Scott in fourth place after the opening weekend.
After missing last season due to injury, Samantha Wells has made a solid return to competition also, and lies in 13th position overall, with Renee McElduff finishing in 19th place.
Jeff Bean was full of praise for the trio.
“Renee had been battling a few injuries and struggled to land, but is healthier now and was able to gain confidence from her training,” Bean said. “Sam has been making great progress and Danielle had a good weekend of jumping.”
The next Aerials World Cup event will be held at Lake Placid (USA) beginning on 15th January.
