Freeski skier Jon Sallinen won his first career World Cup victory in Calgary, Canada. The third fall lifted the Finn to victory.
Hinn Hirvonen,
Micke Suopuro
Freeski calculator Jon Sallinen has won the freestyle halfpipe World Cup competition in Calgary, Canada.
Sallinen’s third landing brought the top score of 96.00 and put him first in the Finnish competition. The favorites of the home crowd, Canada, were left behind Brendan Mackay and Simon D’Artoiswho had to settle for second and third instead.
The entire top three fit within three points.
Sallinen already shone in the qualifiers, where he was first with 91.50 points.
The Finn was expected to be successful, but the huge stretch on the last descent was still a surprise.
– Let’s see what the judges say, this is quite exceptional, the narrator Sami Saarenpää described after the bill.
Then there was a moment of silence in the scoreboard as the scores appeared on the screen.
– Look, expert Juho Kilkki amazed.
– 96 points, Jon wins! That’s fine for the judges, Saarenpää beamed.
You can watch the last authorized invoice and the reaction of the reporting office in the video that is the main image of the story.
Sallinen got 24.75 points for his first trick and 28.75 points for the second, because the last trick fell short on both tricks. However, the third bill blew the pot.
The World Cup victory was the first of the 22-year-old Finn’s career.
– I don’t even know what to think. I can’t even talk, I’m so happy. The bill shows me that I belong at the top. I’m excited going forward, Sallinen said on the FIS website.
Sallinen has already flashed this season before. In December, he was first in the qualifiers and fifth in the finals at the American World Cup competition at Copper Mountain. He also received an invitation to the prestigious X Games invitational competition.
He reached his first World Cup final place in January 2022 precisely in Galgary. In this case, Sallinen finished sixth in the final.