Jonny Moseley, of Tiburon, Calif., jumps in the finals of men's freestyle moguls in Nagano, Japan, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 1998. Moseley placed first for a gold medal. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
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Jonny Moseley, of Tiburon, Calif., jumps in the finals of men's freestyle moguls in Nagano, Japan, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 1998. Moseley placed first for a gold medal. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko) |
But the U.S. women, considered a threat for a possible sweep, were shut out of the medals as little-known Tae Satoya of Japan grabbed the gold.
Moseley, 22, of Tiburon, Calif., was the final of the 16 competitors to bash down the mogul field Wednesday (Tuesday night EST). He bounced through the bumps like a pinball and performed his signature ``air'' move: a 360 Mute Grab Jump in which he did a full ``helicopter'' rotation and grabbed his inside ski. As soon as he reached the bottom, spraying snow as he skidded to a stop, Moseley screamed and threw up his arms in triumph.
About a minute later, his winning score flashed on the board: 26.93 points.
``I got No. 1!'' Moseley shouted. ``I can't believe it. Oh my God! This is unbelievable. I worked so hard for this. I never thought this would happen.' The silver medal went to Finland's Janne Lahtela with 26.00 points and the bronze to another Finn, Sami Mustonen, with 25.76.
Tatjana Mittermayer of Germany won the women's silver with 24.62, with Norway's Kari Traa taking the bronze with 24.09.
Canada's Anne-Marie Pelchat, the No. 1 qualifier, slipped to fifth with 23.95 points.
The event was held under bright, sunny skies, with thousands of flag-waving and horn-blowing fans gathered along the sides and at the bottom of the hill.
Freestyle skiing, once considered a pastime for ski bums and hot-doggers, is now fully in the Olympic mainstream. This is the third time moguls events have been held in the games.
The men's and women's aerial events - in which competitors perform flips and twists off a ramp - are scheduled for next week. The top U.S. medal hopes are Nikki Stone and Eric Bergoust.
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