By USSA

RUKA, Finland — Olympic champion Hannah Kearney of Vermont opened defense of her FIS Freestyle World Cup title with a strong win in Ruka as three Americans made it to the podium. Eliza Outtrim was second behind Kearney while Sho Kashima of Stateline finished runnerup to Canada’s Michael Kingsbury for his first career podium.

“It was kind of a surprise, but a really nice finish. I didn’t go to Zermatt camp and competing from the C team and the way I skied last year, the confidence wasn’t there,” Kashima said. “But starting off this season healthy and being able to train this summer full on – hopefully this will be a great season.”