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11 March 2007
Jacqui Cooper has won World Championship bronze in aerial
skiing, eight years after winning the world title in 1999.
Cooper led after the opening round of jumping, scoring
110.76 points with her triple twisting triple somersault to
be seven points clear of the field.
But in the second jump she was a casualty of the strong and
gusty winds that buffeted the course during the event, a
sudden blast catching the 34-year-old veteran halfway down
the in-run, robbing her of the speed she needed to complete
her double twisting triple jump.
She received 71.82 points from the judges for a total of
182.58 points, enough for a podium place but not for the
gold, which went to defending champion Nina Li of China.
Li scored 188.05 points, the lowest World
Championship-winning score since 1995, while Belarussian
Assoli Slivets took the silver on 186.55 points.
Olympic Winter Institute team member Liz Gardner placed
tenth on 153.40 points.
"It was very tough with the wind today, and we didn't get it
right on the final jump" Cooper said.
"I had four goals at the start of the season - to win the
World Cup, to set a new record points score, to set a new
record for the number of career victories and to win the
World Championship, and I'm really disappointed I couldn't
get the last one."
"The first jump was great - I scored a seven-zero (a perfect
score) from one of the judges - and in the second round I
only needed 78 points, and couldn't do it, so I'm
disappointed about that."
"I know it's been a very good year, but I really wanted to
win this one."
Courtesy OWI/Sportcom
İFIS Mike Ridewood
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