Noé Roth from Baar is aerial world champion

The Zug ski acrobat Noé Roth was crowned world champion after a difficult competition The 22-year-old from Baar pulled out his best jump in Bakuriani, Georgia, at the decisive moment.

The men's aerial competition in Bakuriani, Georgia, was postponed twice, but the weather was good enough on Wednesday: the ski acrobats could jump for the World Cup medals. After World Cup bronze four years ago and a World Cup victory this season, Noé Roth from Baar had great ambitions for the World Cup medals.

The aerial jumpers performed three jumps in the shortened competition, one each in the qualification, the final and the super-final. A special competition mode, in which each round started again with zero points. This was not exactly the World Cup competition Noé Roth would have wanted. The weather didn't make it any easier either: the ski acrobats had to fight against increasing snowfall and unpredictable gusts. This was a challenge for the athletes, who had had to maintain their focus for several days.

Roth showed a solid jump in the qualification, "without having seen the landing". Understandably, this made his first jump of the day "feel a bit strange". Despite the disorientation, the 22-year-old made it into the top 12, as did his team-mate Nicolas Gygax.

The Zug ski acrobat Noé Roth                      Photo: PD
Video: The jump in the super-final.           https://youtu.be/JrcN6aSw-Ys
Video: Noé Roth from Zug is overjoyed after his victory.   https://youtu.be/zBCWNkz0pyE

The conditions became even more difficult in the final. Some athletes fell or couldn't produce a clean landing, while others, such as team-mate Nicolas Gygax, were not able to perform their announced trick and thereby received zero points. The second jump did not go as planned for Noé Roth either. He missed the jump because of the wind and couldn't perform his trick, the Back Double Full-Full-Full, completely stretched, but he did land safely this time. Shaking his head, Roth waited for his score, he was not satisfied with his performance.

He initially ranked third in the intermediate and just made it to the super-final in sixth place. "Round after round, Noé survived," said coach Michel Roth about his son's performance. The athlete himself did not believe he would make it into the top 6. But the competition also fluffed their lines, and the athlete from Zug therefore had all chances for a World Cup medal again in the Super-final. The next jump would decide whether Roth or one of the other five finalists would become World Champion.

Roth started first and performed the Back Full-Double Full-Full, the triple backflip with a double twist in the second flip and one twist each in the first and third flip. He succeeded in the dismount, kept the tension and gave a perfect landing. Roth showed his best jump of the day at the decisive moment: in the World Championships Super-final.

Then it was a matter of waiting to see how the other athletes could perform: "I’ve rarely been so nervous," said Noé Roth. "The jump was very good. But the landing was not flawless, so I didn’t think it would be enough for the title." But none of the other jumpers manage to pass him. "I don't know what to say. I am just happy," said the visibly surprised world champion.