MOUNT GABRIEL, Quebec (Kyodo) Freestyle skier Aiko Uemura captured the women's mogul gold at a freestyle World Cup event on Saturday to claim her first victory of the season.
Uemura topped the heats before going on to win the final with 25.53 points. Canadian Jennifer Heil came second with 25.51, while American Hannah Kearny followed in third with 24.89.
"I kept my composure from the heats and felt good," said the 29-year-old Uemura, who last season became the first Japanese to capture the overall World Cup moguls crown.
"I moved up a gear really well (in the final) and held my nerve but even at the end I didn't know whether I had beaten Jennifer. I think I was able to show why I won the overall title last season," she added.
Elsewhere for Japan, Miki Ito finished 10th but Arisa Murata failed to advance to the final contested by 16 skiers.