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US freestyle skier Ferreira wins Olympic halfpipe gold / Photo: © AFP
US freestyle skier Ferreira wins Olympic halfpipe gold
US freestyle skier Alex Ferreira won the first Olympic gold of his career on Friday, soaring to victory in a men's halfpipe final littered with errors.
Ferreira, who won silver and bronze in the event at previous Olympics, posted a winning score of 93.75 after a sublime effort on his third and final run of the competition.
He dislodged Henry Sildaru from top spot but the Estonian's silver was still his country's first medal of the Milan-Cortina Games.
Canada's Brendan Mackay took bronze with a best score from his three runs in Livigno of 91.00.
The final, featuring 11 competitors, started in bizarre fashion with Canada's Andrew Longino the only athlete able to put down a reasonable score of 76.50 in the first run.
The pattern of mishaps continued at the start of run two but the competition changed gear when Ferreira posted 90.50 to set a new standard.
That was immediately topped by Sildaru, who scored 92.75.
But Ferreira then found an extra gear and the Estonian teenager fell just short with a 93.00, forcing him to settle for second place.
In the men's qualifiers in Livigno earlier on Friday, New Zealand's world champion Finley Melville Ives suffered a hard fall.
It was the second serious incident in two days in the discipline after Cassie Sharpe's crash during the women's halfpipe qualifying.
New Zealand's Olympic team said Melville Ives was "stable and positive" following his tumble.
The halfpipe event carries a high level of risk as skiers must perform a series of aerial tricks by propelling themselves off the edge of a semi-cylindrical course.
The inner height of the walls is 7.2 metres and the athletes soar high above the lip of the half-pipe.
O. Petrow--BTZ
