Nick and Burov take top spot in aerials World Cup

American star Megan Nick produced a sensational performance in the women's aerials to claim her first Freestyle Skiing World Cup victory of the year in Yaroslavl, Russia.

The 24-year-old edged out Alla Tsuper of Belarus by the slenderest of margins to claim top spot in the third event of the season, as she claimed gold by just 0.06 points.

Nick was the first skier to take to the course in Russia, and would have had a nail-biting afternoon as she had to sit through watching the other 23 contestants before eventually being crowned the victor with a score of 89.88.

Tsuper narrowly missed out with a score of 89.82, while Nick's compatriot Kaila Kuhn rounded off the podium with a score of 87.25, with the 17-year-old moving up to second in the overall standings as a result.

Laura Peel - who finished first in both events prior to Sunday's outing in Yaroslavl - only managed to muster a score of 61.81, which left her down in 21st place, although she still leads the overall standings after three events.

The Australian sits on a score of 210 points ahead of next weekend's event in Moscow, with Kuhn her nearest challenger some 64 points behind.

In the men's event, Maxim Burov made it three wins out of three in 2021, as the Russian continued his terrific form to claim top spot on the podium on home snow.

The 22-year-old registered a score of 125.34 to top the standings in Yaroslavl, with compatriot Stanislav Nikitin making it a Russian one-two with a result of 123.98.

Canadian Lewis Irving stepped onto the podium for the first time this season after a score of 120.36 was enough to secure third spot, while Pavel Krotov had a day to forget.

After finishing second in each of the last two events, the Russian missed the chance to keep the pressure on Burov at the top of the leaderboard, as the 28-year-old could only manage an eighth-placed finish.

That result means Burov extends his lead at the top of the overall standings to a mammoth 108 points after three events, with Krotov second on 192, and American Justin Schoenefeld in third with 113 points.