DEER VALLEY, Utah \u2014 Vail’s Tess Johnson finished ahead of Kazakhstan’s Yulia Galysheva in the race for the bronze medal at the FIS Snowboard Freestyle Freeski World Championships dual moguls on Saturday night at Deer Valley, Utah, but she didn’t know if she had done enough.<\/p>\n
Speed is only 25 percent of the score; the rest \u2014 the difficulty and execution of jumps, the tightness of the line through the moguls among other factors \u2014 is up to the judges.<\/p>\n
“I knew I had skied great,” Johnson said. “We were neck and neck, but she has a great air package and does grabs on both jumps. It was key that I took the speed, but I didn’t know what was going to happen.”<\/p>\n
Through the snow, the crowd and the cacophony of noise, Johnson, 18, finally saw the little No. 3 next to her name on the scoreboard, and knew that she had won a bronze medal at worlds.<\/p>\n
“I was overwhelmed with happiness,” Johnson said. “The crowd roared and I was immediately on cloud nine.”<\/p>\n
Johnson’s parents, TJ and Carol, jumped the fence to join her, and after the assorted duties of a world-championship medalist like podium photo sessions, medal ceremonies and news conferences, the celebration continued at the house of the family of Jaelin Kauf, Johnson’s teammate, best friend and silver medalist on Saturday night.<\/p>\n
Johnson has three podiums, including a dual-moguls win last season, and she has been to the Olympics, but Worlds bronze seems like No. 1 in the book for her.<\/p>\n
“It ranks probably as the best out of all of them,” Johnson said. “To do it on the biggest spot, the best course with my parents there in front of all those people, I couldn’t ask for a better night. That’s one that I will always remember.”<\/p>\n
Lindsey Vonn, 34, was making her 25th FIS Alpine World Ski Championships start on Sunday, and she was \u201cthe most nervous\u00a0I\u2019ve ever been in my life,\u201d she said in a\u00a0conversation with fellow legend Tina Maze. So Johnson, a worlds rookie in her sport, understandably was over-awed by the stage initially during Friday\u2019s moguls competition.<\/p>\n
Johnson\u00a0DNF\u2019d in her first qualifying run but laid down a run during her second attempt good enough to advance to Friday night\u2019s finals. Though she didn\u2019t place as well as she had wanted \u2014 12th \u2014 during the finals, Johnson got more comfortable with the limelight and the course for Saturday.<\/p>\n
\u201cI flipped a switch with my approach to finals. It was a fresh start,\u201d Johnson said of Friday\u2019s moguls. \u201cI went really big on my second jump and it caught me, but I was pleased I left it all out there. It left me motivated for duals. I know I could carry the momentum into the next day.\u201d<\/p>\n
That she did. She also was adjusting to the course. Already a beast at 254 meters with a 28-degree pitch, the course\u2019s moguls\u00a0were getting bigger and bigger with the snow Deer Valley received during the week and throughout Saturday night\u2019s competition.<\/p>\n
In a 32-woman bracket, Johnson advanced against Sweden\u2019s Josefina Werson, Australia\u2019s Taylah\u00a0O\u2019Neill and scored the upset in the quarterfinals against No. 3 Jakara Anthony \u2014 Johnson was ranked No. 6.<\/p>\n
That set up an all-American semifinal with Kauf. The two competitors and best friends actually rode up on the same chair before their dual.<\/p>\n
\u201cI remember telling her that we both just wanted to have good fun and put on a good show,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cI\u2019m really glad I got to dual her. She pushes me to be the best skier and person I am today.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kauf edged Johnson, 79.97-73.56, which sent Johnson to the small final, aka the bronze-medal race, against Galysheva, who had won the world title in moguls on Friday night. What\u2019s more, as the field moves through the bracket, the races come more quickly.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was crazy,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cThere were hundreds of people watching, the crowd is roaring. It\u2019s easy to get distracted. I tried to embrace the idea of skiing one run at a time and not to get too far ahead of myself.\u201d<\/p>\n
And that strategy delivered a worlds bronze medal.<\/p>\n
Johnson is spending a few more days in Utah before heading to Tazawako, Japan, ironically where she won her first World Cup, for competitions Feb. 23-24. She\u2019s going early because she wants to get in some powder skiing beforehand.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would say that I just want to keep this momentum going and keep working on my jumps,\u201d she said. \u201cMy jumps are the weakest part. I want to work on finetuning my air takeoffs and continue to work on what I accomplished.\u201d<\/p>\n