The Olympic debut of huge air males’s freestyle snowboarding has delivered Group USA one other medal.
Colby Stevenson took dwelling silver within the occasion Wednesday afternoon in Beijing, ending second behind Norway’s Birk Ruud.
The 24-year-old New Hampshire native didn't land a clear bounce in his first run of the finals however then rebounded with a nosebutter triple cork 1620 and a change double cork 1800 on his remaining two runs — to safe a complete rating of 183. Ruud led the way in which with a 187.75 whereas Sweden’s Henrik Harlaut took the bronze with a rating of 181.
Stevenson, one of many world’s greatest on slopestyle, had by no means completed greater than sixth at a World Cup large air occasion.
“I’m completely on a cloud,” he stated. “It hasn’t fairly sunk in but. I imply, it was only a miracle that I ended up right here immediately.”
Stevenson, who practically died in a 2016 automobile crash that reportedly left his cranium fractured into 48 items, needed to wait out the ultimate rivals to ensure his spot on the rostrum was protected.
Fellow American Alexander Corridor, who gained large air gold within the 2022 X Video games, completed eighth with a rating of 160.75 after not having the ability to land his remaining bounce.
The 21-year-old gold-medalist Ruud additionally has needed to overcome adversity to get to his Olympic second. He got here to the Beijing Video games eyeing medals in large air, slopestyle and the halfpipe — no motion sports activities athlete has earned three medals in the identical yr.
He has been promising to win Olympic large air gold since center college, even in a self-discipline that solely turned a Winter Video games occasion this yr. The final leg of his path to Olympic glory was a painful one.
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His father, Øivind, woke him late one evening in July 2020 with crushing information: a most cancers analysis. He was gone 9 months later.
Ruud had two Winter X Video games large air gold medals and three World Cup wins earlier than his father acquired sick. He has just one World Cup victory since, and he’s acknowledged that his dad’s sickness pulled his thoughts away from aggressive snowboarding.
His efforts to ramp up for Beijing have been interrupted by a knee damage 9 weeks in the past, and he skipped final month’s Winter X Video games to play it protected amid the coronavirus.
The rust got here off rapidly, although. The consequence was one thing he’s positive Øivind could be happy with.
“I’m simply grateful to be on this place and I’m grateful for on a regular basis I had with my dad,” he stated. “I nonetheless have my household, and I've lots of people that assist me, and I’m very grateful for that.”
— with AP
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