HELSINKI, Dec. 5 (Xinhua) -- Laura Peel of Australia won the women's aerials title, while Maxim Burov led an unprecedented Russian sweep of the podium in men's category at the 2020/21 FIS aerials Freestyle World Cup opener in Ruka, Finland on Friday.
Peel, the winner of last year's crystal globe, didn't cleanly land her full, tuck, full, but the higher degree of difficulty for her jump and execution in the air was enough to earn her a game-winning 83.87 points.
"I finished last season on a high and started this season the same way, which is a dream," said Peel.
German youngster Emma Weiss finished second, her first career podium in just her seventh competition, with 80.95 points.
The third place belonged to the 18-year-old Russian Anastasia Prytkova, who also claimed her first World Cup podium, with a score of 71.53.
Prytkova's compatriots had a strong performance in men's competition, as Burov led the first ever aerials podium sweep for Russia.
In the super final, Burov put down a double full, full, full to earn the highest score of 126.24.
"It's a great feeling to have the yellow bib to start the season," Burov noted.
Behind him in second was Pavel Krotov, who received a score of 120.36. Maxim's elder brother Ilia Burov rounded out the podium for Russia with 118.10 points.
Action in Ruka continues with the moguls World Cup season opener on Saturday. Enditem
