Snowboarding-China's Su bags Big Air gold, Roisland takes silver
BEIJING (Reuters) - China’s teen sensation Su Yiming gave himself an early 18th birthday present by grabbing gold in the men's snowboarding Big Air event at the Olympics on Tuesday, marking China's first ever gold medal in snowboard and sixth gold in Beijing.
Su, who also won silver in the slopestyle event, delivered a stellar performance before the largest crowd at the Shougang venue since the Games started, with his parents cheering him on. He can now celebrate his birthday on Friday with his medals.
Su started with a frontside 1800 tail grab and came back with a backside triple cork 1800 for his second run that earned 93.00 points and sparked huge cheers from the crowd, as fans waved Chinese flags and shouted his name.
"I've been dreaming about winning a gold medal before I turn 18. Now my dream came true. This is the best birthday gift," said Su, who did not try his hardest 1980 tricks after securing gold with a combined score of 182.50 from the first two runs.
Norway's Mons Roisland who climbed into second place after his last run included a backside 1620, took silver with 171.75, while Canada's Max Parrot finished with the bronze in 170.25.
"It’s unbelievable. I’m still shaking. I landed everything I wanted to," said Roisland after claiming his first Olympic medal after an eventful time in Beijing.
He had to isolate as a close contact of a COVID-19 case and compete without his coach who had coronavirus.
Parrot, who takes home a second medal after his gold in slopestyle on Monday, said he went for a more conservative strategy after crashing on his first run.
"I would have loved to get more gold but with my first crash I had so much pressure for second and third. I chose to go for a safety run instead of going for gold. I knew I wasn’t going to take first place ... but my strategy worked out," he said.
Canadian veteran Mark McMorris did not make it to the podium after failing to land his signature tricks and finished 10th.
"I didn’t go in hopes of a medal, I went in the hope of landing a trick. I was pretty damn close in my last one. It’s definitely frustrating," he said.
