American David Wise performs a trick on his second run during the men’s freestyle skiing halfpipe final at the Winter Olympics on Saturday (Friday night PT) in Zhangjiakou, China. (Photo by Maja Hitij/Getty Images)
The United States’ David Wise competes during the men’s halfpipe finals at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Saturday, Feb. 19, 2022, in Zhangjiakou, China. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
The United States’ David Wise competes during the men’s halfpipe finals at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Saturday, Feb. 19, 2022, in Zhangjiakou, China. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
American David Wise performs a trick on his first run during the Men’s Freestyle Skiing Halfpipe Final on Day 15 of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics at Genting Snow Park on February 19, 2022 in Zhangjiakou, China. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
Team USA’s Alex Ferreira competes in the freestyle skiing men’s freeski halfpipe final run during the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games at the Genting Snow Park H & S Stadium in Zhangjiakou on February 19, 2022. (Photo by Marco BERTORELLO / AFP) (Photo by MARCO BERTORELLO/AFP via Getty Images)
The United States’ Alex Ferreira competes during the men’s halfpipe finals at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Saturday, Feb. 19, 2022, in Zhangjiakou, China. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
New Zealand’s Nico Porteous competes during the men’s halfpipe finals at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Saturday, Feb. 19, 2022, in Zhangjiakou, China. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
New Zealand’s Miguel Porteous competes during the men’s halfpipe finals at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Saturday, Feb. 19, 2022, in Zhangjiakou, China. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
New Zealand’s Nico Porteous competes during the men’s halfpipe finals at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Saturday, Feb. 19, 2022, in Zhangjiakou, China. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
American David Wise performs a trick on his first run during the Men’s Freestyle Skiing Halfpipe Final on Day 15 of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics at Genting Snow Park on February 19, 2022 in Zhangjiakou, China. (Photo by Maja Hitij/Getty Images)
The United States’ David Wise reacts during the men’s halfpipe finals at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Saturday, Feb. 19, 2022, in Zhangjiakou, China. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
American David Wise reacts as he competes in the freestyle skiing men’s freeski halfpipe final run during the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games at the Genting Snow Park H & S Stadium in Zhangjiakou on February 19, 2022. (Photo by Marco BERTORELLO / AFP) (Photo by MARCO BERTORELLO/AFP via Getty Images)
The United States’ Alex Ferreira competes during the men’s halfpipe finals at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Saturday, Feb. 19, 2022, in Zhangjiakou, China. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
American Alex Ferreira competes in the freestyle skiing men’s freeski halfpipe final run during the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games at the Genting Snow Park H & S Stadium in Zhangjiakou on February 19, 2022. (Photo by Marco BERTORELLO / AFP) (Photo by MARCO BERTORELLO/AFP via Getty Images)
The United States’ Alex Ferreira competes during the men’s halfpipe finals at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Saturday, Feb. 19, 2022, in Zhangjiakou, China. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
The United States’ Alex Ferreira reacts during the men’s halfpipe finals at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Saturday, Feb. 19, 2022, in Zhangjiakou, China. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
American Alex Ferreira reacts as he competes in the freestyle skiing men’s freeski halfpipe final run during the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games at the Genting Snow Park H & S Stadium in Zhangjiakou on February 19, 2022. (Photo by Marco BERTORELLO / AFP) (Photo by MARCO BERTORELLO/AFP via Getty Images)
Great Britain’s Gus Kenworthy crashes during the men’s halfpipe finals at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Saturday, Feb. 19, 2022, in Zhangjiakou, China. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
American Aaron Blunck falls as he competes in the freestyle skiing men’s freeski halfpipe final run during the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games at the Genting Snow Park H & S Stadium in Zhangjiakou on February 19, 2022. (Photo by Marco BERTORELLO / AFP) (Photo by MARCO BERTORELLO/AFP via Getty Images)
American Aaron Blunck falls as he competes in the freestyle skiing men’s freeski halfpipe final run during the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games at the Genting Snow Park H & S Stadium in Zhangjiakou on February 19, 2022. (Photo by Marco BERTORELLO / AFP) (Photo by MARCO BERTORELLO/AFP via Getty Images)
American David Wise, left, goes to check on teammate Aaron Blunck after he fell in the men’s freeski halfpipe final run during the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games at the Genting Snow Park H & S Stadium in Zhangjiakou on February 19, 2022. (Photo by Marco BERTORELLO / AFP) (Photo by MARCO BERTORELLO/AFP via Getty Images)
Bronze medal winner Alex Ferreira celebrates after the venue award ceremony for the men’s freeski halfpipe at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Saturday, Feb. 19, 2022, in Zhangjiakou, China. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
Silver medal winner David Wise of Team USA celebrates after the venue award ceremony for the men’s freeski halfpipe at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Saturday, Feb. 19, 2022, in Zhangjiakou, China. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Bronze medalist Alex Ferreira, left, and silver medalist David Wise celebrate after the venue award ceremony for the men’s freeski halfpipe at the Winter Olympics on Saturday (Friday night PT) in Zhangjiakou, China. The American duo and the rest of the competitors battled strong gusts at the venue. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
From left, silver medal winner David Wise (Team USA), gold medal winner Nico Porteous (New Zealand) and bronze medal winner Alex Ferreira (Team USA) celebrate during the venue award ceremony for the men’s halfpipe at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Saturday, Feb. 19, 2022, in Zhangjiakou, China. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
ZHANGJIAKOU, China — Nico Porteous of New Zealand overcame the swirling wind to win the Olympic halfpipe final on a day when many skiers struggled to land their best tricks due to strong gusts.
Porteous scored a 93 in his opening run on a bitterly cold and breezy Saturday (Friday night PT) in the last event at the Genting Snow Park. He was blown off course on another run and landed hard on his shoulder.
Two-time Olympic champion David Wise of the United States took home the silver with his first-run score of 90.75. The 31-year-old Wise won the event at its Olympic debut in 2014 and again in ’18. His teammate, Alex Ferreira, threw down a strong first run, twirling his right ski pole at the bottom in elation, to end up with the bronze.
The podium was the same as at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games, just in a different order. Back then, it went Wise, Ferreira and Porteous.
The last competitor to go, Aaron Blunck, crashed his head and shoulder into the wall of the halfpipe while trying to land a trick in the breezy conditions. Wise ran up the halfpipe in his ski boots to check on his teammate. Blunck eventually sat up and made his way down.
Just before Blunck went, NBC Olympic freestyle skiing analyst Tom Wallisch commented: “These conditions are abysmal right now.”
And after his first run, Blunck, the top qualifier, labeled the competition “gnarly.” It had nothing to do with the performances and everything to do with the poor weather. Quite a few competitors caught wind gusts in the air and either had to bail on tricks or even worse, crashed. A common sight was watching skiers hike back up the halfpipe to retrieve a ski. Or, in the case of Wise, both of them after his wipeout in his second run.
Although the wind was reported to be around 15 mph, the gusts kept on coming. It was cold, too, with the wind chill hovering around minus 26 degrees.
“I think most of the main guys have scaled their runs back,” said Gus Kenworthy, the American freestyler who won silver at the 2014 Sochi Games in slopestyle and now represents Britain in the halfpipe. “The top three were so impressive, their runs were so good. But they’re not the runs that they wanted to do coming out here. Everyone has had to adapt and modify … It’s a tough tough day to do this.”
