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Bradley Wilson bids Deer Valley farewell with seventh-place finish

Cole McDonald comes in 15th, 3 American women finish in top 6

Bradley Wilson competed in the Deer Valley FIS freestyle World Cup this week, finishing seventh on Friday. He says this will be his last time competing at Deer Valley and that he will retire at the end of the season.
David Jackson/Park Record

Bradley Wilson knew that this would be his last time competing at Deer Valley Resort — he just didn’t know which run would be his last.

The two-time Olympian, who is hoping to make a third appearance in the Games in Beijing in a few weeks, finished ninth during the moguls World Cup on Friday on his home course, going out on a high note. Friday’s competition also brought the World Cup festivities at Deer Valley to a close.

“This is my last World Cup at Deer Valley in my career, so it’s pretty incredible,” he said after his qualifying run. “This is (where I had my) first podium … this is my home mountain. It’s just crazy to think that this is my last World Cup here after 11 years.”



Along with Wilson’s farewell to Deer Valley, Friday’s action included Park City skier Cole McDonald reaching the finals — the second-to-last round of the competition — and three American women qualifying for the six-woman super final.

Wilson scored a 72.39 on his qualifying run, which put him on the bubble. He stayed in 16th place, the last position to qualify for the finals, for a long time and could only watch and hope that his score would be enough to move on. Wilson held on and had one more opportunity to ski down Champion run.



The 29-year-old went first in the finals and finished the course in 24.34 seconds, one of the faster times in the round. The judges awarded him with a 77.16, which once again put him on the bubble for the super finals. Wilson hung around in sixth until Canada’s Mikael Kingsbury, the final competitor and the dominant figure in men’s moguls, placed second to eliminate Wilson, who missed out on the super final by less than a tenth of a point.

“I thought my last run was my last run here at Deer Valley, but I’m much more happy with that run,” he said. “I’ve been doing this for the last 20-plus years, so a lot of emotions to call it quits after this year.

“I thought I was going to end 17th or 18th, but I was really happy to be able to go and lay down a sick run.”

McDonald qualified 14th in his second opportunity to compete in front of his home crowd. He landed awkwardly on his second jump in the finals, which cost him some time, and he ended the day in 15th. This week was the 18-year-old’s first World Cup experience on his home course.

“I feel a lot better making it down the course and hearing the crowd chanting my name a little bit,” McDonald said.

Japan’s Ikuma Horishima beat Kingsbury to take first place on the last run of the day, and Walter Wallberg of Sweden finished third.

Team USA had a strong performance on the women’s side, as six Americans qualified for the finals. Three qualified for the super final: Olivia Giaccio, Elizabeth Lemley and Kai Owens. Giaccio ended up as the best finisher in fourth place, and Lemley and Owens finished right behind her in fifth and sixth place, respectively.

Giaccio was informed after the event that she had qualified to represent the red, white and blue of the United States in Beijing. Jaelin Kauf and Hannah Soar have also clinched their spots on the Olympic team.

“It was pretty crazy to battle all the way until the very end for those last few spots, so I’m glad I laid it down today,” Giaccio said.


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