Danielle Scott has finished second overall at the 2015/16 FIS Freestyle Skiing Aerials World Cup, after finishing second in the final event of the season in Minsk, Belarus tonight (Australian time).
The 25-year-old Olympic Winter Institute of Australia (OWIA)/Victorian Institute of Sport (VIS) athlete was locked in a battle with World Cup leader, Ashley Caldwell of the United States.
After finishing first in qualifying, Scott entered the first final with confidence, putting in a good jump to finish equal fourth, and therefore qualifying for the Super Final.
With the top six qualifying for the Final, Scott was third to jump, and put in a strong jump under pressure, scoring an impressive 96.93.
Caldwell though responded magnificently.
Last to jump, and with the World Cup title on the line, she finished with a score of 103.27 to claim a well deserved win, taking home the crystal globe as World Cup champion for 2015/16.
Following the event, Scott reflected on what was a thrilling finale to the aerials competition.
“I’m pretty happy with second overall; it’s one up from last season, so I guess it just keeps getting better and better,” Scott said.
With so many possible scenarios today, Scott maintained her focus on each individual performance.
“The strategy today was definitely dealing with the conditions and speed,” Scott said.
“I’ve had a little bit of trouble with that recently, so I just trusted the coaches were putting me in the right places and do what I needed to do,” she added.
Samantha Wells finished eighth overall in today’s event, while Renee McElduff finished in 17th place.
In the Men’s, David Morris finished 21st to finish the season inside the top ten, finishing ninth overall.
Final World Cup Standings:
Ladies:
1) Ashley Caldwell (USA)
2) Danielle Scott (AUS)
3) Alina Gridneva (RUS)
8) Samantha Wells (AUS)
16) Renee McElduff (AUS)
Men:
1) Oleksandr Abramenko (UKR)
2) Maxim Gustik (BLR)
3) Petr Medulich (RUS)
9) David Morris (AUS)
