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Megan Nick Wins Second Aerials World Cup Of Season, Career

by Todd Kortemeier

(Left) Megan Nick celebrates a podium finish at the FIS Freestyle Ski World Cup on Feb. 7, 2020 in Park City, Utah.

 

Megan Nick had just two career world cup aerials podium finishes entering the 2020-21 season; she now has two wins and counting.
Nick scored her second win of the season and in her young career Saturday in Raubichi, Belarus, edging out overall world cup leader Laura Peel of Australia 89.88-89.04. Team USA’s Winter Vinecki was third with 88.12. Those three women are the only athletes to win aerials events this season, and they are now top three in the overall standings as well. Peel is first, Vinecki is second and Nick is now third, 132 points behind Peel.
Team USA’s Ashley Caldwell finished 11th, and drops to fourth behind Nick in the overall standings. 
The 24-year-old Nick has been a member of the national team since 2018, and made her world cup debut in 2017. She earned her first world cup podium at Deer Valley, Utah, on Feb. 7, 2020, and scored her first win on Jan. 17, 2021, in Yaroslavl, Russia. 
In the men’s competition, Christopher Lillis was the top U.S. finisher in sixth. 
The aerials world cup season has two more events on the calendar, at Deer Valley on Feb. 6 and in Almaty, Kazakhstan, on March 13. Almaty is also the host of the world championships on March 8-11.


Todd Kortemeier is a sportswriter, editor and children’s book author from Minneapolis. He is a contributor to TeamUSA.org on behalf of Red Line Editorial, Inc.