PYEONGCHANG, SOUTH KOREA—It was a spectacle worthy of its stage: As Austria’s Anna Gasser unfurled her third and final jump of the morning — the 1,080-degree-spinning marvel that would ultimately clinch the gold medal in women’s Olympic big air snowboarding — she raised her hands in ecstatic triumph. Ten days earlier, the world’s best women’s snowboarders had been subjected to an Olympic injustice. There was only one consensus after the windblown final of women’s slopestyle snowboarding was held in ridiculously wind-blown conditions that prevented the world’s best athletes from showcasing their best tricks: The event never should have happened. “I think big air definitely made up for (slopestyle),” said O’Brien. “The ladies definitely showed the world what we’re capable of, and where women’s snowboarding is at.”Laurie Blouin, pictured, arrived in the three-run final with the fourth-best qualifying score.

Source: thestar February 22, 2018 03:11 UTC