Winter Olympics XXIV: Men's Big Air Final Recap, Results and Medalists

In the second-ever showing of Big Air at the Olympics, the men’s skiers took to the jump at Shougang Big Air venue to with the hopes of bringing skiing to new heights. With a stacked list of 12 competitors, including Americans Colby Stevenson, Alex Hall and Mac Forehand, the competition was lining up to be the most impressive showing of amplitude and style ever witnessed in a Big Air event. With no wind, above-freezing temps and clear skies, men’s Big Air had ideal conditions. The rest was up to the athletes.

Top qualifier, Norwegian Birk Ruud, set the tone early with a perfectly stomped switch left triple cork 1980 mute, a trick he had been keeping under wraps until the finals. Bringing out the big guns—and landing the trick perfectly—Ruud put up a first round score of 95.75, which would place him atop the podium until the end. His second hit, his signature left double bio 1800 mute, helped earn him a two-run score of 187.75—a score that the rest of the pack just couldn’t beat.

In a press conference after the event, Ruud said, “When I went to school in 2013, I put down a goal… Olympic big air and slopestyle didn’t even exist then, but I made this promo video to promote my sport and I said my goal was to win big air and slopestyle in the 2022 Olympics. When I got to 14, I painted on the wall ‘Olympic winner 2022.’ Having that goal for so long it’s just been inside my head. I almost made it part of myself and I’ve been working really hard and smart as well. I guess it was meant to be.”

Second place was earned by USA’s Colby Stevenson, who is known for his flawless slopestyle runs but hadn’t hit a Big Air jump in the entirety of his competition experience. Runs two and three solidified Stevenson’s spot on the podium—landing a nosebutter triple cork 1620 Japan and a switch left double 1800 cuban, respectively. The overall score of 183.00 proved enough to fend off the ever-hungry Henrik Harlaut, one of the longest-standing competitors in the sport.