Bring it baby. All riders today in the Olympic Halfpipe Qualifying event put it on the line, setting the stage for what will be an epic finals to tune into.
First up, Scotty James has laid down a huge statement in qualifying runs, coming away with second spot with a 91.25. Ayumu Hirano took out the top spot with a huge and effortless run bagging a 93.25! Third spot was Ruka Hirano with an 87.
Valentino Guseli came out firing. Falling on his first run. He had to bring his A game and delivered. It was full clutch mode. Valentino qualified fifth and Shaun White had to step it up also to qualify as he fell on his first run and did exactly that, scoring a 86.25 to lane in fourth spot. Fist bumps aplenty.
James said: “I feel really good. We stuck to our plan today and we executed really well. The halfpipe is fantastic, the weather is incredible. To say the least it was absolutely fantastic. I’m over the moon.”
White said: “I was nervous, I won’t lie. I’m like ‘Okay, last Olympics. To not make finals would be a bad look, I’ve got to get it done!”
Below are the final competitors! Let the battle begin.
| RUN 1 | RUN 2 | FINAL | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ayumu Hirano | Japan | 93.25 | 93.25Q | |
| 2 | Scotty James | Australia | 91.25 | 91.25Q | |
| 3 | Ruka Hirano | Japan | 87.00 | 87.00Q | |
| 4 | Shaun White | United States | 86.25 | 86.25Q | |
| 5 | Valentino Guseli | Australia | 85.75 | 85.75Q | |
| 6 | Yuto Totsuka | Japan | 84.50 | 84.50Q | |
| 7 | Taylor Gold | United States | 83.50 | 83.50Q | |
| 8 | Jan Scherrer | Switzerland | 79.25 | 79.25Q | |
| 9 | Kaishu Hirano | Japan | 77.25 | 77.25Q | |
| 10 | Andre Hoeflich | Germany | 75.00 | 75.00Q | |
| 11 | Patrick Burgener | Switzerland | 73.00 | 73.00Q | |
| 12 | Chase Josey | United States | 69.50 | 69.50 |
No surprises here that Chloe Kim soared in her first qualifying run. Kim had the best run of the day, an 87.75 on the first of her two runs, to snag the top spot in tomorrows final. She fell on her second run, under-rotating and slipping, but it did not matter. Her first run was more than enough to carry her to the finals as the favorite for the gold again.
Crazy that Maddie Maestro didn’t make the finals! Big upset. Also a big shoutout to Aussie rider Aussie Emily Arthur
Below are the top 12 women who are competing in finals tomorrow!
| RUN 1 | RUN 2 | FINAL | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chloe Kim | United States | 87.75 | 87.75Q | |
| 2 | Mitsuki Ono | Japan | 83.75 | 83.75Q | |
| 3 | Cai Xuetong | China | 83.25 | 83.25Q | |
| 4 | Queralt Castellet | Spain | 78.75 | 78.75Q | |
| 5 | Sena Tomita | Japan | 75.75 | 75.75Q | |
| 6 | Ruki Tomita | Japan | 74.25 | 74.25Q | |
| 7 | Liu Jiayu | China | 72.25 | 72.25Q | |
| 8 | Berenice Wicki | Switzerland | 71.50 | 71.50Q | |
| 9 | Elizabeth Hosking | Canada | 70.50 | 70.50Q | |
| 10 | Brooke Dhondt | Canada | 70.00 | 70.00Q | |
| 11 | Leilani Ettel | Germany | 68.75 | 68.75Q | |
| 12 | Qiu Leng | China | 66.25 | 66.25Q |
To check the Olympic schedule and how to tune into finals, click here.
