Lillis Third in Aerials Season Opener
The Stifel U.S. Ski Team aerials athletes wrapped up a fantastic season opener on Saturday in Ruka, Finland, with Chris Lillis landing on the podium in third place, the 15th podium of his career. Kyra Dossa had a standout performance, finishing in fourth place, her best career finish.
The athletes have spent the last few weeks training in Ruka, which has become a familiar starting point for the athletes as they prepare for the season. The weather was consistent all day, with a packed surface built for jumping.
Today, for Lillis, it was all about learning and improving as he heads into the rest of the season.
“It's always a good start to the season to get on the podium,” said Lillis. My reaction was really more from an execution standpoint, just didn't quite execute that jump the way I wanted to. As we build through the season, I'm gonna be looking to put down bigger and better jumps in the super final for sure. As we get through Secret Garden, I’m looking to build bigger tricks and start throwing some more quints and get ready for the Olympics.”
In the qualification round, Lillis led the way for the men, taking the top spot, followed by teammate Quinn Dehlinger in second place. Connor Curran qualified in 10th. Ashton Salwan finished the day 13th, Derek Krueger in 21st and Ian Schoenwald in 33rd. On the women’s side, Kaila Kuhn took the top position for the Americans in fourth, followed by Dani Loeb in eighth, Tasia Tanner in ninth and Dossa in 10th. Winter Vinecki took a hard fall in qualification but skied away on her own, finishing 26th.
In the finals, Dehlinger stayed consistent in second position, and Lillis rounded out the top six that round, advancing to super finals in fifth place. Curran finished 10th overall. Dossa laid down a beautiful full full in finals, advancing in fourth place alongside Loeb in fifth. Tanner ended the day eighth, and Kuhn in 12th.
Athletes from all nations experienced trouble with landings in the super finals, but Dossa was able to land a clean jump to finish fourth, her best career result, improving from a previous eighth place. Loeb tied her personal best of fifth place. Lillis put down a full double full full, landing in third place and Dehlinger finished fourth.
Next up, the team will spend a few days training before heading to Secret Garden, China, for their next World Cup, including aerials and mixed aerials team, Dec. 19-20.
