Winecki and Duchesne win Deer Valley World Cup Aerials on a snowy Friday

Winter Binecki of the United States and Alexandre Duchesne of Canada won the women’s and men’s aerial titles at the Deer Valley World Cup on Friday. The women’s competition was initially made up of 14 participants and the men’s competition consisted of 26 participants, but Binecki and Duchesne remained in the lead until the final round and won the gold medal with a spectacular jump.

The win was Binecki’s third in four Cup races this season, further solidifying his position as number one in FIS Cup racing. This is Duchesne’s first appearance in three tournaments this season, and he currently ranks fourth in the men’s rankings.

Binecki, who now lives in Park City, said winning in front of his family, friends and hometown crowd would mean the world. She and other skiers, especially the men, faced challenges due to the weather, which prevented them from attempting triples, a staple of the men’s competition.

“It’s great,” Winecki said of the feeling. “My family was here, cheering me on right in front of me, so it was an incredible feeling to be able to endure the tough conditions.”

These difficult conditions were due to the resort experiencing wet snow for most of the competition, especially during qualifying. Another local athlete, Chris Lillis, said lowering the difficulty was actually more difficult.

Lillis, who was pushed off the podium late in the Super Final round and finished fourth, spoke of his mixed feelings after the event. He came into this event aiming to perform better than usual at Deer Valley, where he finished 11th last year. Although he certainly felt he could have done better, he was happy with his young teammate Conor Curran taking second place.

“This is actually the first time in my 10-year World Cup career that I’ve competed from the double (ramp),” Lillis said. “The conditions, the weather, there’s not much we can do, but I’m happy that we performed well and competed. I’m also really happy for my teammate Conor Curran.”

The shared joy was evident in the aftermath of Curran’s first podium at just 19 years old. One of her teammates seemed shocked and she celebrated forcefully as tears of joy streamed down her face.

“It means the absolute world,” Curran said of his results. “It’s always been a dream of mine to be on the podium here at Deer Valley. He (my teammate) is so excited that my dream came true.”

Curran, like Lillis and Vinecki, was not born in Park City and has since immigrated. He believes his teary-eyed teammates will join him on the podium soon.

Curran, Lillis and Winecki each have two cups remaining this season. They will visit Lac-Beauport, Canada, on February 10-11, before heading to Almaty, Kazakhstan, on March 8-10.

To closely monitor all results, please visit the FIS website.. The event will also be livestreamed with Ski and Snowboard Live. and outside watch.

The Deer Valley Cup resumes Saturday afternoon with a dual moguls event. The preliminaries for the most anticipated competition will begin at 4:15 p.m., and the finals will take place at 7:30 p.m.