Freestyle skiers Alex Hall and Nick Goepper have re-established Team USA’s dominance in men’s freeski slopestyle by finishing first and second in the event at the 2022 Beijing Olympics on Wednesday. Hall took the gold thanks to a 90.01 score in the first final run, while Goepper scored 86.48 in his second run to walk away with a silver medal. Sweden’s Jesper Tjäder took home the bronze.
Team USA previously won all three medals in freeski slopestyle’s debut at the Sochi Olympics in 2014. But this was followed by an underwhelming performance four years later, with Team USA only having a silver medal to show for in Pyeongchang.
With the medal from Beijing, Goepper became the first and only Olympian to have three freeski slopestyle medals. He previously won bronze in Sochi and was responsible for the previously mentioned lone silver in 2018. On the other hand, Hall gets his first medal in his second Olympics appearance.
“I just kept it true to myself, and I think that’s the most important part about our sport is just doing it for the love and doing it how you want to do it and not changing that,” said Hall after the event.
With Hall and Goepper’s gold and silver, team USA’s medal count now stands at 19. The United States is currently ranked third among all participating countries with eight golds, seven silvers, and four bronzes.
