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Four freestyle skiing events were held at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, at the venue in Sauze d'Oulx. There were both men's and women's competition in both aerials and moguls events. In moguls, the athletes ski down a slope littered with moguls, attempting to get down in as fast a time as possible while also attempting to get points for technique and their two aerial jumps during the course. The aerials events consisted of two jumps, which were judged by air, form and landing.
[edit] Men's Moguls
The men's moguls event was held on 15 February. Coming into the event, Australian Dale Begg-Smith leads the moguls World Cup for the 2005–06 season, while Nathan Roberts of the United States won the 2005 World Championships.
[edit] Men's Aerials
The 12 best athletes in the qualifying event, held on 20 February, qualified for the final, held on 23 February. Defending World Champion is Canadian Steve Omischl, while another Canadian, Kyle Nissen, leads the World Cup.
[edit] Women's Moguls
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The women's moguls was the first freestyle event, held on 11 February. American Hannah Kearney won the event at the 2005 World Championships, while the World Cup was headed by Canadian Jennifer Heil. Heil also won the event, becoming the first Canadian to do so, 0.85 points ahead of the defending Olympic champion, Norwegian Kari Traa. Sandra Laoura won bronze, France's first medal at the Olympics.
[edit] Women's Aerials
The qualifying event of the women's aerials was held one day after the men's qualifying, on 21 February, with the final on 22 February. The gold medal winning Evelyne Leu also leads the World Cup, while silver medalist Li Nina won the event at the 2005 World Championships. Jacqui Cooper (AUS) recorded a world record 213.56 in the qualifying round, however crashed out of competition in the finals. Her teammate Alisa Camplin went on to win bronze.
[edit] References
Dale Begg-Smith (AUS)
Mikko Ronkainen (FIN)
Toby Dawson (USA)
Han Xiaopeng (CHN)
Dmitri Dashinski (BLR)
Vladimir Lebedev (RUS)
Jennifer Heil (CAN)
Kari Traa (NOR)
Sandra Laoura (FRA)
Evelyne Leu (SUI)
