KIDWCKED
02-14-2010, 05:43 PM
c\p from espn
WEST VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- Someday very soon, 'O Canada' will receive good air time at the Vancouver Olympics.
First, though, American Hannah Kearney gets to celebrate.
It's a party four years in the making for the 23-year-old from New Hampshire, who slashed through the rain and down the moguls Saturday night -- a remarkable run that gave America its first gold medal of these Olympics and denied Jenn Heil the honor of becoming the first Canadian to win gold on home turf.
"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."
Hannah Kearney won the women's moguls for the first U.S. gold medal in the 2010 Games.
Heil came in as the favorite on paper -- winner of her last four World Cup events -- but this one really wasn't close. Kearney scored 26.63 points to win by .94 -- a wide margin in a sport often decided by tenths and hundredths.
She won in a blowout four years after entering Turin as the defending world champion but stumbled in qualifying for a 22nd-place finish that left her crying at the bottom.
This time, Kearney finished first after qualifying, then first again when it really counted -- the last run of the night, when the gold medal was on the line.
"I think the qualifying run was the key to my success today," Kearney said. "In some ways, it was redemption for the absolute failure I experienced in Torino."
WEST VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- Someday very soon, 'O Canada' will receive good air time at the Vancouver Olympics.
First, though, American Hannah Kearney gets to celebrate.
It's a party four years in the making for the 23-year-old from New Hampshire, who slashed through the rain and down the moguls Saturday night -- a remarkable run that gave America its first gold medal of these Olympics and denied Jenn Heil the honor of becoming the first Canadian to win gold on home turf.
"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."
Hannah Kearney won the women's moguls for the first U.S. gold medal in the 2010 Games.
Heil came in as the favorite on paper -- winner of her last four World Cup events -- but this one really wasn't close. Kearney scored 26.63 points to win by .94 -- a wide margin in a sport often decided by tenths and hundredths.
She won in a blowout four years after entering Turin as the defending world champion but stumbled in qualifying for a 22nd-place finish that left her crying at the bottom.
This time, Kearney finished first after qualifying, then first again when it really counted -- the last run of the night, when the gold medal was on the line.
"I think the qualifying run was the key to my success today," Kearney said. "In some ways, it was redemption for the absolute failure I experienced in Torino."