After dominating both rounds of competition in women's freeski halfpipe, Canadian freeskier Cassie Sharpe has won her first Olympic gold medal.
Sharpe's first run of the final — which included cork 900s in both directions — didn't even contain her biggest trick, but it still put her atop the leaderboard with a 94.4.
Recommended Videos
On her second run, Sharpe stepped it up with back-to-back 900s at the top of the halfpipe and a cork 1080 spun to her left on her last hit. Those progressive tricks, combined with Sharpe's great amplitude, upped her score to a 95.8.
No one was able to match that, and by the time she dropped in for her third and final run, Sharpe had already secured the title of Olympic champion.
Sharpe, 25, has become a dominant force within the freeskiing scene within the last two years or so. Her ability to blend progressive tricks with big amplitude and smooth execution turned her into the odds-on favorite for halfpipe gold in her Olympic debut.
The Canadian wasn't the only skier landing 1080s though. France's Marie Martinod landed a left 1080 on her second run to help her score a 92.6. That run gave Martinod her second straight Olympic silver medal in what will be the final contest of her career.
At 33, Martinod was the oldest skier in the field in PyeongChang. She previously retired for five years (from 2006-2011) to start a family before reemerging (partly at the insistence of late freeski pioneer Sarah Burke) to make a run at the 2014 Olympics. Martinod continued competing through the 2018 Games but now plans to head back into retirement.
U.S. skier Brita Sigourney demonstrated impressive amplitude and consistency throughout the contest and landed three solid runs. Her third run scored a 91.6 and moved her into third place, which secured a bronze medal for her but also bumped teammate Annalisa Drew off the podium.
Just a few minutes earlier, Drew had put herself into medal contention with an impressive run that included a 1080. In a moment of camaraderie, she and Sigourney shared a hug after Sigourney landed the run that knocked her down to fourth place.
Defending champion Maddie Bowman was unable to land a run in the final and placed 11th. She was attempting back-to-back 900s at the end of her runs, but washed out on the landing of the second 900 on all three attempts.
Results
1. Cassie Sharpe (CAN), 95.8
2. Marie Martinod (FRA), 92.6
3. Annalisa Drew (USA), 90.8
4. Brita Sigourney (USA), 89.8
5. Valeriya Demidova (OAR), 80.6
6. Ayana Onozuka (JPN), 77.2
7. Rowan Cheshire (GBR), 75.4
8. Sabrina Cakmakli (GER), 74.2
9. Zhang Kexin (CHN), 73.0
10. Rosalind Groenewoud (CAN), 70.6
11. Maddie Bowman (USA), 27.0
12. Anais Caradeux (FRA), DNS
Highlights