LIVIGNO, Italy (AP) — Norway’s Birk Ruud added Olympic slopestyle skiing gold in Italy to his big aerial title in China four years ago, overcoming poor visibility in gray weather to post one of the few perfect times in the competition.
Rudd set his best time on Tuesday on his first trip down the mountain after eight of 11 skiers fell. He fell on his second run, and on his last lap, a victory lap, he appropriately spun off the railing and landed face-down.
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A ski fell off, but he bent down, put it back on, and ended the celebration with a huge flip off the final kicker.
Defending champion Alex Hall also shot just 1-for-3, his only success being enough to claim the silver medal. It was the United States’ first medal in more than a week at the snowboarding and freeskiing competition at Livigno Snow Park in the country’s once-dominated event. New Zealand’s Luca Harrington won the bronze medal.
Counting Hall’s win last time out, the United States has won six of the first nine medals in the history of the Olympics, which debuted 12 years ago in Sochi. There, Team USA swept the podium.
American skier Mike’s forehand hit three times and fell off the second fence. Another teammate, Konnor Ralph, landed an 1800 triple jump in the final sprint, a very difficult trick, although he also fell off the second hurdle early, ruining any chance of a medal.
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This week, Rudd has a chance to defend his Air Grand Championship. He is also a two-time slopestyle world champion and has won three X Games titles.
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AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics