OWIA/VIS athlete David Morris is on top of the world after the opening round of the 2015/16 FIS Men’s Aerials World Cup.

Morris is the world number one ranked athlete after another magnificent performance on Day two in Beijing.

After taking out third place on Saturday in the opening Men’s individual event of the season, Morris was back in action on Sunday night (Australian time) competing in the Team’s event, finishing second overall in the Men’s section.

This was enough for Morris to secure the overall lead in the World Cup standings, and therefore complete a remarkable return to competition, after sitting out the 2014/15 season.

The 2014 Sochi Olympic Silver Medallist was naturally ecstatic at the conclusion of the official presentations.

“I couldn’t have asked for a much better start to the season,” Morris said. “I felt that I had to prove something upon returning and make sure everyone knew I still meant business, and everything went perfectly to plan with another podium today.”

“It’s my first gold bib and I’m just very thankful to my coaches and support staff for getting me through a tough two days of competition,” Morris added.
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Morris was also full of praise for his new coach Jeff Bean.

“A lot of hard work with Jeff has paid off and the results speak for themselves,” a proud Morris stated.

It was also a positive start to the World Cup campaign for our Ladies’ with Danielle Scott in fourth place after the opening weekend.

After missing last season due to injury, Samantha Wells has made a solid return to competition also, and lies in 13th position overall, with Renee McElduff finishing in 19th place.
 
Jeff Bean was full of praise for the trio.

“Renee had been battling a few injuries and struggled to land, but is healthier now and was able to gain confidence from her training,” Bean said. “Sam has been making great progress and Danielle had a good weekend of jumping.”

The final day of competition was an historic occasion for Australia, as it marked the first time the nation has participated in the team aerials competition. Team Australia also created history in the event, becoming the first team to be represented by two women in the three person team.

Remarkably the team qualified through to the finals ahead of traditional powers with two male athletes, USA and Canada.  In the first round of the finals, David Morris again led the way with an excellent 122 point quad twist, triple somersault jump, while Danielle Scott saved her best for last, with a very good 92 point triple twist double. Unfortunately Sam Wells just missed the final landing on a double twist double and Australia narrowly missed a spot in the three team super final, just behind eventual winner, China 1.  

The next Aerials World Cup event will be held at Lake Placid (USA) beginning on 15th January.

IMAGE: David Morris celebrates his world number #1 ranking in Beijing © Jessie Mayo

OWIA/VIS athletes David Morris and Danielle Scott have both made a great start to their 2015/16 World Cup campaign at the season opening event in Beijing, China, claiming third and fourth place performances.

After finishing ninth in the qualifying round earlier in the afternoon, Morris progressed to the Super Final by finishing fourth in the 1st Final.

Morris and Russia’s Petr Medulich fought it out for the minor placings, with the Russian scraping through to finish second, just 1.17 points clear of Morris in third.

For the second year running, the home nation’s Guangpu Qi took out the men’s event, with a fabulous performance, to finish well clear of Medulich and Morris.

Following the official presentations, Morris reflected on his terrific opening round performance.

“I’m really happy with the result of my return to aerials. I felt a lot of pressure to perform well as a returning Olympic medallist, but just concentrated on the same things as always,” Morris said. “I jumped with confidence and with purpose.”

It was a tough competition which Morris noted.

“Everyone jumped well; it was a fantastic competition, and I was fortunate enough to come out with a medal,” Morris said.

In the Ladies’ competition, fellow OWIA/VIS athlete Danielle Scott came through qualifying in second place, after a solid opening performance.

Scott was the only Australian to progress to the finals, after Samantha Wells and Renee McElduff were unable to progress from the qualifying round, finishing 15th and 18th respectively.

After qualifying for the Super Final in fourth place, it was a great battle between the finalists, with Scott eventually settling for fourth place.

Scott was satisfied with her opening performance and was also full of praise for the venue.

“Today went pretty well and it was a great event on a fantastic site,” Scott said.

“I’m happy with my jumps leading into the Super Final, but unfortunately got a little caught up on the landing.”
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Ashley Caldwell from the United States took out first place, from Zhang Xin of China in second, with American Kiley McKinnon third.

IMAGE: The OWIA/VIS Aerial Team in Beijing © Danielle Scott