FIS Freestyle World Ski Championships 2015: Latest Results and Updated Schedule
The 2015 FIS Freestyle World Ski Championships got underway on Thursday in Kreischberg, Austria, with the first two medal competitions taking place just after the opening ceremony of the event.
Guangpu Qi retained his world title in the Men's Aerials with a dominant performance, erasing any doubts the 24-year-old is the sport's top name after struggling during the qualifiers.
Compatriot Xu Mengtao failed to bring China the double sweep for the second consecutive World Championship, settling for bronze behind Australia's Laura Peel and the USA's Kiley McKinnon.
The Freestyle competition will resume on Friday with the Moguls events.
Updated Schedule
Schedule courtesy of data.fis-ski.com.
Sunday, January 18
Ladies' and Men's Moguls
Monday, January 19
Ladies' and Men's Dual Moguls
Tuesday, January 20
Ladies' and Men's Slopestye (Qualifiers)
Wednesday, January 21
Ladies' and Men's Slopestyle (Finals)
Men's Half-Pipe (Qualifiers)
Thursday, January 22
Ladies' and Men's Half-Pipe (Finals)
Saturday, January 24
Ladies' and Men's Ski-Cross (Qualifiers)
Sunday, January 25
Ladies and Men's Ski-Cross (Finals)
Medal Tracker
Thursday, January 15
| Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| Ladies' Aerials | Laura Peel (AUS) | Kiley McKinnon (USA) | Mengtao Xu (CHI |
| Men's Aerials | Guangpu Qi (CHI) | Alex Bowen (USA) | Maxim Gustik (BLR) |
Thursday Recap: Aerials Finals
The Chinese team nearly managed to replicate 2013's gold medal haul, as Guangpu Qi managed to retain his world title, but compatriot Xu Mengtao came up short in Thursday's final, managing only bronze as the gold went to Laura Peel.
The 25-year-old from Australia edged USA's Kiley McKinnon by just .35 points thanks to her third jump, tying her American opponent on the other four jumps to win the gold. Peel's only World Cup win prior to this year's world title came in 2012, also in Kreischberg.
McKinnon was the favourite to grab the gold after it became clear Xu would not be able to replicate her top form from 2013, falling behind early with a disappointing score of just 7.0 on her first jump. With Peel and McKinnon never jumping under 8.0, Qi managed a high of just 7.1, giving up her crown in disappointing fashion.
Qi had similar struggles in qualifiers, blowing the landing on several jumps, but he overcame those struggles on Thursday to win the gold in dominant fashion, beating USA's Alex Bowen by nearly 20 points.
The 24-year-old decided to counter his struggles on the landing with a series of jumps with a higher degree of difficulty, and the strategy paid off, as he never jumped under 9.0.
Bowen's silver medal was a tremendous accomplishment, fending off Belarus' Maxim Gustik, who had dominated the qualifiers.
McKinnon and Bowen became the first American duo to grab medals in the Aerials event since 1999, per NBC Sports' Nick Zaccardi and aged just 19 and 22, respectively, the USA's future in the discipline appears safe.