USA TODAY US Edition

2018 WINTER OLYMPICS PYEONGCHAN­G

High-risk sports athletes are flirting with danger, even death: Gale-force winds forced two Alpine skiing events to be reschedule­d and should have caused the women’s slopestyle finals Monday to be postponed.

- Rachel Axon USA TODAY

PYEONGCHAN­G, South Korea – Women’s snowboardi­ng is better than this. It’s a progressiv­e, exciting time in the sport with riders pushing the boundaries of what’s possible more than ever before.

Not that anyone would know that from watching the Olympic slopestyle final on Monday.

Run at Phoenix Snow Park in some of the worst weather conditions the riders could remember, the contest featured far more crashes than landed runs as the women battled strong gusts of wind from changing directions.

Used to riding in adverse weather, the riders made the best of it. But afterward, they made clear the event should not have been run in those conditions.

“I don’t know why we weren’t asked and I don’t know why it was ran, to be honest,” said Canadian Spencer O’Brien. “Because no one wanted to go.”

Largely they agreed, it was not safe. And beyond that, it did a disservice to a sport that has progressed dramatical­ly since it made its debut in Sochi.

“That’s the biggest shame is that watching the ladies ride the past season and a half and to know the show we could have put on, I’m just so bummed we didn’t get to do that for the world,” O’Brien said.

In what would become a battle of attrition, American Jamie Anderson claimed her second consecutiv­e gold medal, while Canada’s Laurie Blouin took silver and Finland’s Enni Rukajarvi got bronze.

All are talented riders who fought through the weather to land runs, but they conceded it was a factor. The dream run Anderson had hoped for was quickly forgotten.

Most riders attempted runs and tricks far below the typical level of contest riding. It’s all that was safe to do in the constantly shifting wind.

“I’m not extremely proud of my run — back 5, cab 5, front 7 is pretty mellow,” Anderson said. “That would barely get into finals in some events.’’

Pushed by the addition of big air — a one-jump competitio­n that is making its Olympic debut in a week — the trick level has progressed massively in the past two seasons.

Anderson won gold in Sochi with two 720s in her run, but riders are pushing past that now. It’s standard to have a 900, and the top riders are landing 1080s and double corks — inverted tricks with flips and spins that are moving them much closer to where the men are.

“The progressio­n has been crazy and this course is really nice. I really like it. The jumps are a bit smaller,” said Norwegian Silje Norendal, who finished fourth. “So we really could have showcased women’s snowboardi­ng in a really good way and what we were able to show today was obviously not good at all.”

Instead, the riders had to essentiall­y hit the lottery to land a good run. Get a break in the wind, and you could put one down. Get a gust of it, and there goes your chance at an Olympic medal.

 ??  ?? Enni Rukajarvi of Finland crashes in her first run of the snowboard slopestyle finals Monday in Pyeongchan­g, South Korea. JACK GRUBER/USA TODAY SPORTS
Enni Rukajarvi of Finland crashes in her first run of the snowboard slopestyle finals Monday in Pyeongchan­g, South Korea. JACK GRUBER/USA TODAY SPORTS
 ??  ?? JAPAN’S ASAMI HIRONO BY JACK GRUBER/ USA TODAY SPORTS
JAPAN’S ASAMI HIRONO BY JACK GRUBER/ USA TODAY SPORTS
 ??  ?? Enni Rukajarvi crashes during the slopestyle final. JACK GRUBER/USA TODAY SPORTS
Enni Rukajarvi crashes during the slopestyle final. JACK GRUBER/USA TODAY SPORTS

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