PYEONGCHANG (Yonhap) -- Anton Kushnir of Belarus, the reigning Olympic champion in men's aerial skiing, won the gold medal at an International Ski Federation (FIS) competition here on Friday.

   Kushnir, the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics winner, scored 199.47 points in the aerials finals at the FIS Freestyle Ski World Cup in PyeongChang, Gangwon Province, some 180km east of Seoul. He edged out Qi Guangpu of China by 0.92 points to claim his second World victory this year.

   Mac Bohonnon of the United States was third at 116.74 points.

   On the women's side, Chinese skiers swept the podium at Phoenix Snow Park in PyeongChang.

   Xu Mengtao, who won silver at the Sochi Games, finished first with a score of 96.63, followed by Shen Xiaoxue at 72.26 and Yang Yu at 70.72.

   No South Koreans reached the finals.

   Kim Kyoung-eun finished 20th among 25 skiers in the women's aerial and failed to advance to the next round where the top 12 finishers perform. Kim Nam-jeen finished 24th, while Yoon Gi-chan ended up 31st among the 32 skiers in the men's competition and failed to make the cut.

   The FIS Freestyle Ski World Cup is one of the test events for the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics. The competition will have the moguls event on Saturday at the same venue.