Athletes of the Year
Moguls skier Hannah Kearney bests the
field of fine performances in 2010-2011
Hannah Kearney
SKIER OF THE YEAR
INTERNATIONAL FREESTYLE SKIER OF THE YEAR
U.S. FREESTYLE SKIER OF THE YEAR
“This was my season to be dominant,” said U.S. moguls skier Hannah Kearney in
a press teleconference a few days after sealing the first World Cup freestyle overall
title of her career and her second World Cup moguls title.
Yep. Kearney, a 25-year-old native of Norwich, Vt., spells dominant with nine World
Cup wins — out of 12 competitions — two World Championships medals (bronze
and silver) and a U.S. national title. She had the upper hand not only on the moguls
course, but also across all FIS freestyle disciplines as she put up 27 more overall
points than any other female moguls skier, aerialist or ski cross racer.
A day before defending her 2010 U.S. national title, Kearney was named the winner
of this season’s Paul Robbins Outstanding Competitor Award, as voted by the North
American Snowsports Journalists Association. She joined Lindsey Vonn, Bode Miller
and Shaun White on the list of the award’s recipients.
Kearney has also entered her first semester of college at Dartmouth this spring as
a way to branch out while keeping her main focus on defending her Olympic gold in
Sochi in 2014.
The retirement of Kearney’s longtime rival, Canadian Jennifer Heil, has some asking
if there is anyone who can stand in her way until she calls it a career. Kearney doesn’t
seem to care who she beats as long as she is standing on top at the end of the day.
“There are still more competitions to win,” said Kearney. “As long at there is a competition to ski in it will be my goal to win it.”
