Hannah Kearney takes first place during the FIS Freestyle Skiing dual moguls on March 15, 2015 in Megeve, France.
Hannah Kearney won the race, tied the record and took home another crystal globe. Make that two crystal globes.
The world's most consistent moguls skier for the past decade closed her World Cup career Sunday with a victory in a dual moguls contest in France, giving her 46 wins to tie American Donna Weinbrecht's 18-year-old record for most career moguls victories.
The 29-year-old Kearney, who will retire after U.S. championships this month, also won the season title in both moguls and the overall freestyle race. She now has 10 crystal globes -- six for moguls and four for the overall title -- over a World Cup career that has spanned 13 seasons.
"To me, it's almost perfect," Kearney said. "Records are important to me because I think they are a testament to your training and results. Being even in the same category as Donna is huge. I never would have guessed that I would be compared to her."
Kearney, who lives in Norwich, Vermont, won the Olympic gold medal in 2010 but settled for bronze last year. That third-place finish in Russia was a disappointment but it's not the way she's ending her career.
"It was a fairytale ending, to win both globes," she said
Weinbrecht said she first met Kearney at a camp in the spring of 2002, when her career was coming to an end and Kearney's was just beginning.
"I saw her evolve to the point where she took control of the sport, pushing the envelope of moguls skiing," Weinbrecht said. "I was so happy and proud then and am absolutely delighted now, to be sharing the record for World Cup wins with such an accomplished athlete."
