Slopestyle, Men

Slopestyle was making its Olympic début although it had been contested at the 2011 and 2013 World Championships, and since the early 2000s at the Winter X-Games. Americans were expected to win at least one medal, as they had won 4 of the 6 World Championships medals, held 4 of the top 6 spots at the recent X-Games, and neither of their two World Champions could even make the US team. No one was a expecting a medal sweep, but USA skiiers did exactly that.

High temperatures created soft, slushy conditions. Joss Christensen won the gold medal with a near-perfect first run in the finals, followed by his teammates Gus Kenworthy and Nick Goepper. All three landed a triple corked spin. Christensen’s gold was more impressive as he was the last skiier to make the US team for the event, being added only after winning a late qualifying event. His winning run saw him perform a switch slide to an inverted 450 off the final box feature, and a jump section that included a double corked 1260 with a double Japan grab, a switch right-side double corked 1080 with a tail grab, and a switch triple corked 1260 with a Japan grab.

Goepper had won the recent X-Games (and the 2013 event) and was the gold medal favorite, having also won a bronze medal at the 2013 Worlds. The medal sweep for the USA was only the third one ever at the Winter Olympics, after 1956 men’s figure skating and 2002 men’s snowboarding halfpipe.