Heil wins women’s World Cup moguls competition; Marquis second among men

Canadian Heil wins Moguls event

CALGARY, Alberta — Jennifer Heil added another gold medal to her trophy case — and she won’t need to go far to put it there.

The Spruce Grove, Alberta, native was nearly perfect at a World Cup moguls event Friday, earning her 22nd career World Cup title. Heil, the 2006 Olympic champion, finished with 23.95 points at Canada Olympic Park.

Nikola Sudova of the Czech Republic was second with 23.39 points and Margarita Marbler of Austria grabbed third in 23.16.

Canada added a second podium finish later Friday when Vincent Marquis of Quebec placed second in the men’s event. Dale Begg-Smith of Australia was first in 23.73, followed by Marquis in 23.38 and Alexandr Smyshlyaev of Russia in 23.27.

Heil already has qualified for the Vancouver Games, but that didn’t stop her from attacking the difficult COP course known for its tricky moguls. Performing in front of her parents and sister provided some extra incentive.

“I was so excited to be out here in my home province, with all my friends and family here,” Heil said. “The site’s beautiful. It’s such an honor to be able to showcase the sport to Albertans.”

For Marquis, the result is especially significant considering he’s among several skiers still vying for a spot on the Olympic freestyle team.

“For sure, (Friday) improved my chances a lot,” Marquis said. “There’s nothing done yet, there’s still four more World Cups to do, but that helped me a lot.”