Three American women qualified for the women's aerials final on Wednesday morning in Livigno, Italy. Kaila Kuhn advanced to the final after finishing in 6th at the end of the first qualification round, while Winter Vinecki and Tasia Tanner finished in 10th and 12th, respectively, after taking a second jump in the second qualification round.
Kuhn attempted a back full-full-full, one of the highest-scored tricks in women's aerials, which involves three consecutive backflips, each with a full 360-degree twist. Despite her impeccable form in the air, she was unable to stick her landing, falling on the back end of her skis. Vinecki attempted a triple of her own in her first jump, but she, too, fell hard upon her landing.
They weren't the only ones.
Eight women attempted triples, with only Marion Thenault (CAN) landing without a crash. The Canadian has four career World Cup victories under her belt. Prior to these Games, she had not attempted a triple on the World Cup circuit, focusing on stable landings rather than degree of difficulty to claim two World Cup podiums. She led the top 12 women after two rounds of qualifications.
Australia's Danielle Scott, who claimed a World Cup victory in Lake Placid, New York, earlier this season, finished nearly 10 points behind Thenault after a shaky landing on her triple.
Three of four Chinese aerialists were among the eight to attempt a back full-full-full, but only veterans Xu Mengtao and Kong Fanyu nabbed a spot in the final after placing 4th and 5th, respectively. Xu, the defending Olympic champion in this event, ended the season at the top of the FIS World Cup standings to claim the eighth Crystal Globe of her career. The 35-year-old, who is competing in her fifth Olympic Games, was 127 points ahead of Kong in the final standings, the only aerialist across both the men and women to break 400 points this season.
“I feel I’m very brave," Xu said. "To others, it might seem simple to say, let’s go another four years, let’s do another Olympics. But to me, I had to go through countless jumps to just be able to stand here to compete. I’m proud of myself for being able to do that.”
Unlike her teammates, Shao Qi opted for a back lay-full-full and earned the third-highest score of the first qualification round to directly advance into the final.
In aerials, the top six skiers advance directly to the final after the first round. All remaining skiers take a second jump but are not allowed to repeat the same trick they attempted in the first round. Six more skiers advance to the final based on the higher score between the two jumps they completed.
Chen Meiting (CHN) competed in the second qualification round after failing to land her triple, choosing an easier trick in her second jump to take the lead in the second round for her own spot in the final.
Like Chen, Vinecki chose an easier trick in the second round to secure her spot in the final. Fellow American Tasia Tanner just made it into the final after finishing in 12th, her shaky back full-full from her first jump was enough to place her amongst the top finalists. Kyra Dossa (USA) finished just out the top 12 in 14th and did not qualify for the final.