Winter Vinecki Claims First World Cup Aerials Win In Moscow; Chris Lillis Is Second
by Chrös McDougall
Winter Vinecki competes during Woman's Aerials at the FIS Freestyle Ski World Cup at Deer Valley on Feb. 07, 2020 in Park City, Utah.
One weekend after tying her career best finish, Winter Vinecki took another step on Saturday by winning her first world cup aerials competition, out-dueling Australia’s Laura Peel under the lights in Moscow.
Vinecki, 22, tied her career best with a fourth-place finish last weekend in Yaroslavl, Russia, where Peel took first. This time Vinecki came out ahead with a score of 94.11 to Peel’s 92.72. Three-time U.S. Olympian Ashley Caldwell was fifth with a score of 83.89.
In the corresponding men’s event, Team USA’s Chris Lillis took second place, marking his fourth career world cup podium. He scored 116.74 points, finishing 9.5 behind winner Maxim Burov of Russia, the 2019 world champion.
The world cup aerials season got underway in December in Finland, then returned last weekend in Yaroslavl with a pair of individual competitions for women and men, as well as a mixed team contest. Vinecki finished fourth in the opener and 18th in the second event, then did not take part in the team competition.
With Vinecki’s win Saturday, U.S. women have now won two of the four singles events so far this season, after Megan Nick also scored her first career win in the second Yaroslavl contest.
Caldwell also earned a second-place finish in Yaroslavl, and the team of Caldwell, Eric Loughran and Justin Schoenefeld took third in the team event, marking the country’s first podium finish in the discipline. The mixed team event will make its Olympic debut in 2022.
The next world cup is scheduled for Jan. 30 in Raubichi, Belarus.
Chrös McDougall
Chrös McDougall has covered the Olympic Movement for TeamUSA.org since 2009 on behalf of Red Line Editorial, Inc. He is based in Minneapolis-St. Paul.