Supplied by Freestyle Canada
A silver lining for world class Campbell River freestyle skier Teal Harle.
Harle earned silver in the men’s competition at the first freestyle skiing World Cup of the season last Friday in Chur, Switzerland.
Harle was joined by teammates Max Moffatt (Caledon, Ont.) and Evan McEachran (Oakville, Ont.) in the men’s final.
Like most of the competitors in the final round, all three fell during their first attempts.
In his second run, Harle recovered well with a triple 1260 safety pulled back from 1440, earning an impressive 98.00 points to take the lead.
“I feel great! I learned that move last week and hoped I’d be able to land it at this competition,” he said.
However, Austria’s Matej Svancer, the last athlete to start, topped out with a score of 99.00 points, relegating Harle to second place.
Norway’s Birk Ruud finished third with 97.25 points.
“I was surprised at first! I thought I would win, but the judges decide which jump is the best,” Harle said.
“I’m glad I landed mine. A silver medal is great.”
Moffatt (87 points) and McEachran (21 points) placed fifth and ninth, respectively.
This was Harle’s sixth medal in a World Cup competition and his third in Big Air.
His last appearance on the podium was at the World Cup in Atlanta in December 2019, where he won bronze in the same event.
After taking a tumble during his first run of the qualifier, Harle earned the highest score of the round with 97.50 points on his second attempt.
The second heat of the men’s qualification round was delayed due to high winds.
The next freestyle skiing World Cup will take place in Austria on Nov. 19th and 20th.
