Jacqui Cooper has claimed the 29th podium result of her career, finishing in second place to Chinese aerial skier Nina Li in the second round of the 2006/07 World Cup season in Jilin Beida Lake, China.

Cooper missed her chance to collect a record-equalling 17th career victory with a low scoring triple twisting triple somersault in the opening round of the event, scoring just 84.44 points for sixth place behind a brace of five Chinese skiers.

But in the second round she was back on form, topping the points score with 101.84 for her double twisting triple somersault, and an overall tally of 186.28.

That was not enough to overhaul 2005 world champion Nina Li, however, who compiled an aggregate of 196.34 from her two triple twisting double somersaults to take her 12th career victory and her second for the weekend.

Cooper finished in fifth place in the weekend's opening event on Saturday.

"I learnt a lot of lessons from yesterday and tried hard to make some changes," Cooper said. "But I've only had three days of jumping my high degree of difficulty jumps so I am still a little rusty."

"At the moment I feel like I'm having to think more about my jumps, jump to jump, and that leaves very little room for concentrating on the competition."

"The more I do in training, the less I will have to think technically so I can put 100% focus on the competition.

 "My first jump was very straight in the air, but I had a hand drag on the landing, to that really affects the overall score; even if it is good in the air.

"I was so happy to come from sixth to second. I'm usually on the other end of the scale . . . rank high after round one and slide down a few places if I don't land. To climb back up is a good feeling.

"Given the lack of winter preparations I have had, I'm very proud of the things I achieved here this week. I moved mountains in three days. Three days ago I hadn't done more than a single twisting triple.

"It's been a great way to start the season. I'm leaving China pretty happy about where I am technically for early December. I have a lot of work to do, and this event highlighted things that need work when I resume training in Park City next week."

The 33-year-old Australian will now have to wait until the New Year and the third event of the season, in Mont Gabriel, Canada, for the chance to etch her name into the record books on 17 wins alongside former team-mate Kirstie Marshall and Canadian skier Marie-Claud Asselin as one of the greatest World Cup winners of all time.

Meanwhile, the lack of snow in Europe that has caused the cancellation of a string of early season events has also accounted for the opening mogul skiing World Cup in Tignes, France, originally scheduled for December 14 and a skier cross event in Kreischberg, Austria, planned for December 17.

OWIA