Park City, Utah – Michelle Roark is dumbfounded. Ryan St. Onge needs more practice. Toby Dawson feels like maybe he’s going to be sick.
These are good things. They are the things that go through the minds of U.S. Ski Team members when the realization they are heading to the 2006 Winter Olympic Games finally sinks in.
“I’m feeling the worst stomachache right now,” said Dawson. The freestyle moguls skier from Vail clinched his first Olympic berth with a blistering victory run down the Deer Valley Resort’s Champion freestyle course at Friday night’s World Cup Freestyle International. “I don’t know why. I’m excited and everything, but my stomach feels terrible.”
The reason, evidently, was a massive release of pressure that had been looming over Dawson since 2001, when he failed to qualify for the 2002 Olympics at the same venue. Now 27, Dawson qualified first among the world’s 47 top competitive moguls skiers Thursday. He took a final deep breath and gazed at the horizon before nailing a blistering run worth 27.34 out of a possible 30 points to clinch the win – and his ticket to Turin.
“Going into the last Olympics I wanted it really bad, and I kept pushing myself to the point where I was making mistakes,” said Dawson. “This year I’ve just taken my time. The desire was still the same, but I knew it would come eventually.”
As the night’s last skier to follow sterling runs from second-place finisher Janne Lahtela of Finland (26.48), Dale Begg-Smith of Australia (26.33), Alexandre Bilodeau of Canada (26.23) and fifth-place American teammate Travis Cabral of Lake Tahoe (26.08), Dawson had to have patience at Deer Valley. But he made up for it when his exuberance upon crossing the finish line caused him to crash over the wall separating the skiers and judges.
The victory landed Dawson at the top of the World Cup moguls points standings with two contests remaining at Lake Placid, N.Y., before the Olympics in February. Previous points leader Jeremy Bloom of Loveland dropped to fourth after Thursday’s qualifying run.
Dawson’s victory capped an impressive Colorado freestyle trifecta that saw Roark of Denver turn her Olympic dreams into reality with her first World Cup victory in women’s moguls since she won here a year ago. Earlier in the day, St. Onge of Steamboat led Joe Pack of Utah in a 1-2 U.S. finish in men’s aerials.
The World Cup win was the second this season for St. Onge, who secured his Olympic spot when he won the U.S. Olympic Trials “wild-card” event two weeks ago.
After St. Onge left the podium Friday, Roark stepped in. The 31-year-old former figure skater was left speechless after outskiing the field with a top score of 26.32 accented by a back flip and a 360 “Bronco” spread on her two mandatory airs. Defending World Cup champion and current leader Jennifer Heil of Canada was second (25.96), Sara Kjellin of Sweden third (24.04).
“It’s really hard to express what I’m feeling right now,” Roark said. “I’ve dreamt of this since I was 5, and it’s been a really, really bumpy road – six knee surgeries, a roller-coaster ride. … For a long time we weren’t allowed to say the ‘O’ word in my house, but I can say it now.
“I’m going to the Olympics.”
Scott Willoughby can be reached at 303-820-1993 or swilloughby@denverpost.com.
