Two Madison residents on the United States ski team placed second in aerials events Sunday at the FIS Freestyle Ski World Cup in Minsk, Belarus, but clinched season titles in a historic moment for the team, according to team's website.
Mac Bohonnon, 19, of Madison, won the first crystal globe for the U.S. men's ski team since Jeret "Speedy" Peterson's in 2005, placing second in the aerials event and winning the overall World Cup title with 491 points, according to the U.S. ski team's website.
"Unfortunately I did know how close I was to winning the globe, so I was pretty stressed out all day and just tried to eliminate that from my head. But yeah, jumping went well. It was a tough site. We only had one day of training and got used to it quick and had a good day. Sasha jumped really well," Bohonnon said on the U.S. ski team's website.
He said on the ski team's website that winning the globe "is a dream come true."
"I’ve been thinking about it for a really long time. And to do it 10 years after Speedy did it feels really special,"Bohonnon said on the ski team's website. "He was a huge influence on me and motivated me to get in to the sport of aerials. He was always someone I looked up to when I was trying to get into aerials. To think that I’m in a similar category as him, the last person who won a globe, is pretty special."
Kiley McKinnon, of Madison, placed 14 points behind her teammate Ashley Caldwell, of Ashburn, Virginia, to take second place in the aerials event with a "full, double full" move" and win the overall World Cup title, according to the U.S. ski team. She earned a crystal globe and is the first to do so on the team since Nikki Stone in 1998, the ski team said on its website.
"It’s kind of hard to describe what just happened," McKinnon said on the U.S. ski team's website. "I can’t really explain the feeling, it’s amazing. I’m so proud of Mac and Ashley for also being up there on the podium. It’s been so long since a U.S. woman has gotten this globe. It just makes me feel so honored to represent the U.S. To have me and Mac together there on top, being from the same town in Connecticut, it’s just amazing. It’s such an awesome feeling and I’m so proud of the whole team for bringing the nations cup home. It’s something that we really wanted, so to be able to stand up there with the entire team and cheer together was spectacular. It was awesome."
In February of last year, Bohonnon made his Olympic debut in the freestyle skiing men's aerial event at Sochi, Russia. His hometown declared it Mac Bohonnon Day to honor him as he competed that day. He was the only American to advance to the final round, ultimately finishing in fifth place.
