Dale Begg-Smith has skiied one of the best runs of his life to claim his fourth victory of the season and all but wrap up the World Cup mogul skiing title.
Dale Begg-Smith has skiied one of the best runs of his life to claim his fourth victory of the season and all but wrap up the World Cup mogul skiing title.
Facing a massive score of 27.33 points set by Canadian Alexandre Bilodeau in the final in Apex, Canada, the 22-year-old Torino gold medallist defied the pressure, producing a 27.41 point final run, the highest of his career.
The bronze went to Maxime Gingras, also from Canada, on 27.07 points.
The result gives Begg-Smith 584 World Cup points, 133 clear of nearest rival Guilbaut Colas of France.
With two events remaining on the calendar after International Ski Federation officials added a second event to the World Cup final stop in Voss, Norway, the Olympic Winter Institute skier is in a great position to take his second successive title.
"The quality of Dale's skiing today was just outstanding across the board," said Olympic Winter Institute Head Moguls Coach Steve Desovich.
"His speed was dominant, his turns were great and his jumps were a lot better."
"His final run was tremendous. He was up against some huge scores, and although he has proved he can rise to that challenge, at some point you think 'that score is going to be too much for him'."
"A podium would have been exceptional today, given what he was facing, so the gold is extraordinary."
"Dale looked at video of his jumps when we were in Japan, and figured out some technical things he needed to change."
"He applied them today and the result was much better."
"He's got a good cushion for the title now but it's not 100 per cent wrapped up."
"Anything is possible, of course, but if he stays healthy, it's hard to see anyone taking it away from him."
The other two Australians in the Apex field did not feature prominently in the results, Nick Fisher scoring just 12.88 points for his qualifying run and Michael Robertson opting not to start because of bad bruising on his leg.
The first Voss event will be contested on Friday night, Australian Summer Time, with the final competition on Saturday night.
Jacqui Cooper will try to wrap up her fourth World Cup title when she competes in Apex tomorrow morning, Australian Summer Time.
Facing a massive score of 27.33 points set by Canadian Alexandre Bilodeau in the final in Apex, Canada, the 22-year-old Torino gold medallist defied the pressure, producing a 27.41 point final run, the highest of his career.
The bronze went to Maxime Gingras, also from Canada, on 27.07 points.
The result gives Begg-Smith 584 World Cup points, 133 clear of nearest rival Guilbaut Colas of France.
With two events remaining on the calendar after International Ski Federation officials added a second event to the World Cup final stop in Voss, Norway, the Olympic Winter Institute skier is in a great position to take his second successive title.
"The quality of Dale's skiing today was just outstanding across the board," said Olympic Winter Institute Head Moguls Coach Steve Desovich.
"His speed was dominant, his turns were great and his jumps were a lot better."
"His final run was tremendous. He was up against some huge scores, and although he has proved he can rise to that challenge, at some point you think 'that score is going to be too much for him'."
"A podium would have been exceptional today, given what he was facing, so the gold is extraordinary."
"Dale looked at video of his jumps when we were in Japan, and figured out some technical things he needed to change."
"He applied them today and the result was much better."
"He's got a good cushion for the title now but it's not 100 per cent wrapped up."
"Anything is possible, of course, but if he stays healthy, it's hard to see anyone taking it away from him."
The other two Australians in the Apex field did not feature prominently in the results, Nick Fisher scoring just 12.88 points for his qualifying run and Michael Robertson opting not to start because of bad bruising on his leg.
The first Voss event will be contested on Friday night, Australian Summer Time, with the final competition on Saturday night.
Jacqui Cooper will try to wrap up her fourth World Cup title when she competes in Apex tomorrow morning, Australian Summer Time.
