Li, Kuhn claim aerials World Cup victories in Lake Placid

WASHINGTON, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- China's Li Xinpeng and Kaila Kuhn of the United States both secured their first World Cup wins of the season on Monday at the freestyle skiing aerials event in Lake Placid.

The competition wrapped up the FIS's aerials World Cup calendar after weather conditions prompted organizers to consolidate the final two stops into back-to-back events at the same venue.

In the men's final, Li delivered a near-flawless performance in the second finals round, executing a Back Full-double Full-Double Full with a difficulty rating of 5.100 to earn 137.19 points and clinch the gold. His compatriot Wang Xindi, who had won Sunday's event, took silver with 112.00 points, while Canada's Miha Fontaine captured bronze.

Out of six men's aerials competitions this season, four were won by four different Chinese aerialists, in a sign of the team's depth and quality in aerials skiing.

On the women's side, Kuhn edged out China's reigning Olympic champion Xu Mengtao by a razor-thin margin of 0.43 points. Both athletes attempted jumps with a 4.293 difficulty, but Kuhn's 105.60 score sealed her first World Cup victory. Australia's Laura Peel finished third.

Xu, 35, nevertheless secured the women's Crystal Globe as the overall season champion. Over six World Cup stops, she earned one gold, two silvers and two bronzes, finishing 127 points clear of compatriot Kong Fanyu in the standings.

The men's overall title went to China's Sun Jiaxu, with compatriots Li Tianma and Qi Guangpu rounding out the top three.

The Rookie of the Year awards were given to Gabriel Dion of Canada and China's Feng Junxi. China also claimed the Nations Cup, reflecting its continued dominance in aerial freestyle skiing. ■