Freestyle Worlds: Deneen takes moguls gold

By Published On: March 7th, 2009Comments Off on Freestyle Worlds: Deneen takes moguls gold

The U.S. Ski Team’s Pat Deneen (Cle Elum, WA) took the competition by storm Saturday, winning the gold medal in moguls at the 2009 FIS Freestyle Ski World Championships in Japan.

“This is incredible. It really hasn’t set in yet, but just to know that I have that now is a great feeling. I don’t even know how to put it into words. I just can’t believe it’s mine,” Deneen said. “It’s been a really long and tough season so far, so to have this win feels really good. To come out with a World Championship win is the most incredible thing.”

Deneen was closely followed in the men’s competition by teammate Sho Kashima (South Lake Tahoe, CA) who finished sixth. In the women’s moguls, Shannon Bahrke (Tahoe City, CA) headed up the list for the U.S., finishing sixth.
American mogul skier Pat Deneen became a World Champion today, taking home the gold at the 2009 FIS Freestyle World Ski Championships in Inawashiro, Japan.

“This is incredible. It really hasn’t set in yet, but just to know that I have that now is a great feeling. I don’t even know how to put it into words. I just can’t believe it’s mine,” Deneen said. “It’s been a really long and tough season so far, so to have this win feels really good. To come out with a World Championship win is the most incredible thing.”

The victory was Deneen’s first win on any level this season. “I went home, worked on it and came back here and everything worked,” Deneen said. “I had a really tough training day yesterday and same with this morning, but everything just went together for my finals run. It’s pretty amazing.

Finn Tapio Luusua raked in the sliver, while Canadian Vincent Marquis took the bronze.    

Fellow American Sho Kashima also cracked the top-ten, finishing sixth.

Uemura Aiko of Japan thrilled the home crowed winning the women’s event ahead of Canadian Jennifer Heil in second and Nikola Sudova of the Czeck Republic in third.

“I’m very happy,” said Uemura. “This is very hard course out here, but I knew I should not be overwhelmed and just kept thinking about doing my best. That gave me a successful performance.”

Shannon Bahrke led the American women in sixth. World Cup leader Hannah Kearney finished 14th, while teammates Michelle Roark and Eliza Outtrim also made the top-20 in 16th and 17th, respectively.     

U.S. moguls head coach Scott Rawles knew Deneen had it in him. “He really stepped up and put it together today. I think he had high expectations coming into this year, but he definitely showed everyone what he could do today,” Rawles said. “It’s very gratifying to see someone who has worked so hard and put so much time into his sport, to put together the performance he did today and end up on top of the podium at World Championships.”

The U.S. now has two gold medals and one bronze in these championships.

The mogul skiers are back at it tomorrow to close the championships with a dual moguls competition.

OFFICIAL RESULTS
2009 FIS FREESTYLE SKI WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
Inawashiro, Japan – March 6, 2009
Moguls

Men
1. Pat Deneen, Cle Elum, WA, 23.41
2. Tapio Luusua, Finland, 21.89
3. Vincent Marquis, Canada, 21.66
4. Nobuyuki Nishi, Japan, 21.62
5. Maxime Gingras, Canada, 21.42

6. Sho Kashima, South Lake Tahoe, CA, 21.11
18. Michael Morse, Duxbury, MA, 17.07
33. Landon Gardner, Missoula, MT, 11.98

Women
1. Aiko Uemura, Japan, 24.71
2. Jennifer Heil, Canada, 22.88
3. Nikola Sudova, Czech Republic, 21.76
4. Miki Ito, Japan, 21.35
5. Kristi Richards, Canada, 21.20

6. Shannon Bahrke, Tahoe City, CA, 21.15
14. Hannah Kearney, Norwich, VT, 13.09
16. Michelle Roark, Denver, 12.52
17. Eliza Outtrim, Steamboat Springs, CO, 11.78

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About the Author: Pete Rugh