Finals takes place Thursday night
February 22nd, 2006
SAUZE d'OULX, Italy (Feb. 20) - Jeret Peterson (Boise, ID) finished eighth in Monday night's Olympic aerials qualifying and will advance to Thursday's finals. Joe Pack (Park City, UT), Ryan St. Onge (Steamboat Springs, CO) and Eric Bergoust (Missoula, MT) finished 15-16-17, not high enough to make finals.
China's Xiaopeng Han posted the highest score of the night with 250.45 points. Belarus' Dmitri Dashinski was second (249.34) and Canada's Warren Shouldice was third (243.45).
The top 12 finishers in tonight's qualifiers advanced to Thursday's finals.
Peterson, who finished ninth in aerials at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics, was eighth with 227.21 points. His first jump, a back-double-full-full-full, earned him 114.38 points, while his second, a back-full-double-full-full, got him 112.83 points.
Pack, the '02 silver medalist, got a 97.57 in his first jump when he caught an edge after landing and crashed. He rebounded in his second jump and scored a 113.76, but it wasn't enough to advance.
Competing in his first Olympics, St. Onge totaled 207.75 points. He got a 97.35 in his first and a 110.40 in his second jump.
A four-time Olympian and '98 gold medal winner, Bergoust recorded 113.72 points on his first jump and a 92.13 on his second.
Dashinski had the lone jump that earned over 130 points as he scored a 130.31 on his first hit, a back-full-double-full-full.
Thursday's finals start at 6:30 p.m. (Torino time).
XX OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES
Sauze d'Oulx, ITA - Feb. 20, ,2006
Men's Aerials Qualifying (top 12 make finals)
1. Xiaopeng Han, China, 250.45 points
2. Dmitri Dashinski, Belarus, 249.34
3. Warren Shouldice, Canada, 243.45
4. Alexei Grishin, Belarus, 242.87
5. Vladimir Lebedev, Russia, 241.48
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8. Jeret Peterson, Boise, Idaho, 227.21
15. Joe Pack, Park City, Utah, 211.33
16. Ryan St. Onge, Steamboat Springs, Colo., 207.75
17. Eric Bergoust, Missoula, Mont., 205.85
