The sun was out Saturday at the Utah Olympic Park, and the Parkites shined in the U.S. Ultimate Airwave aerials competition.
The event went all afternoon at the park and featured most of the top U.S. aerialists and ones from Argentina, Australia, Switzerland, Canada and China. The skiers flew off ramps into the park pool, part of their lead up to on-snow season.
Parkite Winter Vinecki led Team USA on the women’s side, taking the last spot on that podium, third. Fellow Parkite and Olympic gold medalist Chris Lillis did the same with the U.S. men, taking sixth. Vinecki was the second-best women’s aerialist during the 2024-25 World Cup season.
Another Parkite, Kaila Kuhn, finished in fourth Saturday.
The Chinese dominated both events, with Shuo Chen winning the men’s and Mengtao Xu the women’s. Vinecki was just six-tenths off Xu’s winning score of 28.9.
Lillis was the defending champion on the men’s side.
U.S. Ski and Snowboard considered the competition a wild success.
“It was exciting to watch all of the World Cup athletes from all around the world competing on water,” said U.S. Ski Event Director Malorie Irvin. “We made a few changes to help things run smoother … in-person judging (being one). We had two additional countries competing, which deepened the competition, making for a great event.”
The next stop for many of Saturday’s aerialists is Czechia, followed by China. The 2025 World Cup schedule will begin Jan. 18 in Lake Placid. The Lake Placid Cup will be one of five this season.
The freestyle Cup at Deer Valley, featuring men’s and women’s moguls and aerials events, will begin Feb. 6.
For further U.S. Ski and Snowboard news, see their website: usskiandsnowboard.org.