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BEIJING — Birk Ruud of Norway spun away with a gold medal in the Olympics’ first men’s freestyle skiing big air event Wednesday, re-emerging as a leader in the extreme sport after losing his father to cancer and injuring his knee.
A day after Eileen Gu’s gold medal temporarily broke Chinese social media site Weibo, the men put on another impressive show at Big Air Shougang — a shuttered steel mill that now hosts the world’s only permanent big air jump.
Ruud has two Winter X Games big air gold medals and four World Cup wins, but only one since 2019. The 21-year-old’s father, Øivind, died of cancer last April, and Ruud has said the loss pulled his mind away from competitive skiing.
His efforts to ramp up for Beijing were interrupted by a knee injury nine weeks ago, and he skipped last month’s Winter X Games to play it safe amid the coronavirus.
The rust came off quickly.
Ruud carved out a commanding lead in his first two runs, coming in backward for a switch triple cork 1980 — three off-axis flips with 5½ rotations — then tumbling forward for a double cork bio 1800.
Alex Hall was Ruud’s toughest competitor — the American became the first to land a 2160 at the Winter X Games last month. Hall tried to spin out only the second-ever 2160 in the final round but crashed out for an eighth-place finish.
Ruud went last in the final round with his spot atop the podium already assured. He grabbed a Norwegian flag and held it in his left hand for his final trick, a no-pressure bio 1440. He unraveled the flag and waved it behind him after landing.
Ruud ripped off his gloves to display the nails he had painted by an artist in the Olympic Village. Flashy and funny, he’s a favorite among fans for his hijinks on social media, like the time he skateboarded around disguised as an old man, bewildering an unassuming crowd.
Ruud’s final score of 187.75 was well clear of American silver medalist Colby Stevenson’s 183. Swedish veteran Henrik Harlaut took bronze with 181, barking…
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Source : espn
