USA snags pair of Olympic medals in freeski halfpipe despite brutal conditions

BEIJING — While Alpine skiing at Yanqing shut down for the day because of high wings, freestyle skiing at Zhangjiakou went on, generating both frustration and outrage.

Winds at the Genting Snow Park whipped in from Mongolia, chilling temperatures to a feel of minus-12 degrees Fahrenheit and causing havoc across the board at the men’s freeski halfpipe final. Artistry was a secondary consideration behind mere survival, and when it was all done, New Zealand’s Nico Porteous won gold, and the Team USA duo of David Wise and Alex Ferriera won silver and bronze, respectively.

The conditions were brutal, with wind causing havoc on every run. Gus Kenworthy, now skiing for Great Britain, mis-aligned a jump and hit the halfpipe wall so hard he shattered the cornice. Switzerland’s Robin Briguet fell on a windblown trick and raised his hands to the heavens in frustration. New Zealand’s Miguel Porteous, Nico’s brother, slammed the base of the halfpipe hard enough to dislodge a ski; a few runs later, Wise lost both of his at once. Brendan Mackay ended up sliding on his backside, lifted his hands to show he was all right, and then looked back up the halfpipe with disgust on his face.

“The wind was the deciding factor for everyone,” Kenworthy said. “Even the guys who are on top, they put down incredible runs — it was awesome to see — but they have all scaled back from what I think they were hoping to do."

Porteous held the first-round lead after a brilliant run that earned a 93.00 score, with Wise’s strong 90.75 holding down second place and Ferreira in third at 86.75. The second round proved a struggle, and eight of the 12 skiers, including four of the top five, recorded worse scores than their first round.

The wind steadily increased over the course of the 90-minute event, making every run more challenging than the one before. In all, 10 of the 12 riders fell during at least one of their three runs.

“I think the contest should be suspended right now, but the trouble is we’re two runs in," Eurosport commentator Ian Findlay said during the broadcast. “It’s not ideal. I don’t think these are the right conditions for an Olympic final."

“If FIS cared, they would suspend and postpone the men's halfpipe with these conditions," he added.

In his final run, Wise lost momentum halfway through his trick set and couldn’t secure enough height to dislodge Porteous. Ferreira turned in a respectable but unspectacular final run, and Aaron Blunck endured a scary crash in his third turn down the halfpipe. Wise ran in snow boots from the base of the halfpipe up to check on Blunck, who was able to ski down under his own power after a minute.

Porteous’ win was New Zealand’s second in these Olympics, after snowboarder Zoi Sadowski-Synnott in slopestyle — marking New Zealand’s first gold medals at the Winter Games in Olympic history.

“It’s so freezing cold right now,” Porteous said, “I’m lost for words.”

“If anything, when it's really windy, it’s kind of a little bit of an advantage for me because I have these guys outweighed by 30 or 40 pounds,” Wise laughed. “You just kind of embrace it and say, 'All right, this is the conditions that it is.’ Certainly, we would all like it to be a little nicer, but you have to go out there and do what you can on this day.”