American Kearney upsets Canada's Heil in moguls

EDDIE PELLS February 14, 2010

Photo: Jamie Squire/Getty Images

(L-R) Jennifer Heil of Canada celebrates silver, Hannah Kearney of United States celebrates gold and Shannon Bahrke of United States celebrates bronze during the flower ceremony for the women's freestyle skiing moguls held at the Whistler Medals Plaza on

WEST VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) Hannah Kearney won the first U.S. gold medal of the Vancouver Olympics, taking the women's moguls Saturday night and denying Canada its first gold medal on home turf.

The 23-year-old from New Hampshire slashed through the rain to score 26.63 points in the final, defeating Canadian Jenn Heil by the wide margin of .94 points. American Shannon Bahrke took bronze to add to her silver medal from 2002.

Heil came in as the favorite - winning her last four World Cup events - but this one really wasn't close. Kearney's margin was mammoth in a sport often decided by tenths and hundredths of point.

Kearney's win came after a 22nd place finish at Turin four years ago, when she came in as a favorite but bobbled on her second turn in qualifying and didn't make the final.

She insisted she was more mature, more able to turn her brain off and simply ski than she was in Italy.

Kearney pulled off a back flip on her top jump and a 360-degree spin on her second, her legs knitted tightly together on both, the perfect example of form and function that judges love to see when they're handing out Olympic gold.

It was the same scene as she tore through the slushy, rain-soaked moguls - knees pointed forward and down the hill and hands moving in rhythm with the bumps.

Logging the fastest time - 27.86 seconds - didn't hurt anything, and when Kearney made it across the finish line, she knew it, pumping her fists and waiting for the score that would prove to be a blowout over Heil, the defending Olympic champion.

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper was in the house to watch Heil, the top-ranked moguls skier in the world who was given a great shot at becoming the first to get "O Canada" played at a medals ceremony in Canada.

Instead, she'll go down with figure skater Brian Orser, who lost the famous "Battle of the Brians" to Brian Boitano in 1988 in Calgary, where the host country failed to win a gold medal.

"I know Canada hasn't won a gold medal on their home turf, but I have a feeling they'll do it these games," Kearney said. "But I'm pleased that I could stop that for now."

Canada also failed to win at the Summer Games in 1976 in Montreal, though Vancouver should be a different story. The host country poured $110 million into its "Own the Podium" program, the goal of which was to win more medals than anyone else over these 17 days.

"I know how much hard work goes into winning any Olympic medal," Heil said. "For me, I didn't see the difference in the value of what date a medal is won. Canadians can be assured that that medal is coming on home soil."