OLYMPICS: Freestyle: Heil eyes history for Canada

Vancouver (AFP) - Olympic champion Jennifer Heil is set to take to the slopes Saturday strongly tipped to retain her women's moguls crown as she bids to make history by winning Canada's first gold on home soil. But the in-form freestyle skier will be keeping a nervous eye on the heavy skies at Cypress Mountain amid growing fears over deteriorating weather at the venue, which has been plagued by rain and fog. Heil, well on the way to her fifth moguls world cup title after winning all four races she has entered this season, will also be wary of the challenge from the powerful US team featuring Heather McPhie and and veteran Hannah Kearney. But Japan's Aiko Uemura has shown she is capable of breaking the North American stranglehold on the sport. She won the moguls World Cup title in 2008 and took two golds at the 2009 FIS Freestyle World Championships. And Canada could also be celebrating a medal from Kristi Richards, who won a World Cup event in Finland earlier this season. Richards was seventh at the last Olympic Games in Torino in 2006 and is fifth in the moguls World Cup standings. Heil cannot wait to perform in front of her home crowds, despite the pressure to bring home gold for her native country. "For me it's a huge opportunity. I feel like I've won the lottery, to get to compete at home," the 26-year-old said. "We're so well supported and it gives us a huge boost. We know the whole country is behind us." Heil, who took gold in Torino, comes into the Games in sparkling form after winning four consecutive World Cup races in January and leads the World Cup points race ahead of McPhie and Kearney. "Certainly she's been skiing phenomenally well through January and I think her chances are very, very good," said Peter Judge, leader of Canada's freestyle team. "Whether she will be the first (to win gold for Canada) or not is really immaterial." Cypress has been hit by torrential rain and thick fog in the latest setback to organisers preparing the mountain courses, throwing the first day of competition Saturday into doubt. It followed the launching of a round-the-clock operation to ferry in snow from higher ground using helicopters and lorries. If the fog continues, it is possible that the women's moguls could be cancelled or delayed. "If there is a band of fog and we cannot see, then we cannot start the competition," said Joe Fitzgerald, director of freestyle competition with the International Skiing Federation.

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