China's Jia leads in men's aerials qualifying

(CRIEnglish.com)
Updated: 2010-02-23 15:24

China's Jia leads in men's aerials qualifying

Jia Zongyang of China competes during the freestyle skiing men's aerials qualification on day 11 of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics at Cypress Mountain Resort on February 22, 2010 in Vancouver, Canada.[Photo/CFP]

China's Jia Zongyang finished first to qualify for the final round of the men's freestyle skiing aerials competition at the Vancouver Winter Olympics on Monday.

Defending Olympic champion Han Xiaopeng failed to make the finals after he fell on his second jump of qualifying Monday night at Cypress Mountain to finish 21st.

World Cup champion Anton Kushnir of Belarus also failed to make a clean landing and crashed to a shock exit.

Jia Zongyang will go last at the finals Thursday night, after qualifying with a score of 242.52. American Ryan St. Onge is second with 240.67, while Switzerland's Thomas Lambert (238.33) sits third.

Liu Zhongqing of China made the best jump of the day, getting 124.78 for his first effort. Another Chinese athlete, Qi Guangpu, also qualified.