Steve Omischl gets overall Crystal Globe
Canada wins third straight Nations Cup

VALMALENCO, Italy, March 16, 2008 – Aerialist Steve Omischl of Kelowna, B.C., wasn’t competing Saturday, but he was celebrating.

He accepted a crystal globe from the International Ski Federation officials for finishing atop the freestyle ski men’s overall standings for all disciplines.

“It’s a huge honour. I wouldn’t have flown back to Europe if it wasn’t a big deal,” said Omischl, who was also the runaway leader in the men’s aerials standings after winning medals in eight of nine World Cups this season. “It’s probably one of the biggest honours I’ll ever achieve in my career, especially when I realize the class and calibre of the athletes who have won this award.”

Omischl, 29, whose hometown is North Bay, Ont., topped the men’s overall freestyle standings with 85.44 points. Ski cross competitor Tomas Kraus of the Czech Republic was second in 69.37, while Canadian-born moguls skier Dale Begg-Smith of Australia finished third in 66.40.

In the women’s freestyle ski overall standings, ski cross athlete Ophelie David from France finished atop the standings with 80.75 points. Aerialist Jacqui Cooper of Australia, who recently underwent elbow surgery, finished second, with 71.33. Moguls skier Aiko Uemura of Japan who finished the season with five straight World Cup victories was third overall with 68.30 points.

Half-pipe athlete Sarah Burke, who grew up in Midland, Ont., but now resides in Squamish, B.C., was fourth overall. Burke, 25, won two of her three World Cups this season and clinched the women’s overall half-pipe title by placing second in Wednesday’s World Cup here.

Canada wins third straight Nations Cup

Canada was also awarded the prestigious Nations Cup, presented to the nation with the highest total of points for all freestyle disciplines. It is the third consecutive year Canada has won the Cup, and the fifth time in six years. Canada won the highly coveted trophy with a total of 5,402 points. The US finished second, in 3,811, followed by France, with a total of 3,149 points.

posted March 16, 2008