Nico Porteous claims first-ever men's OWG gold for NZL with halfpipe win
Feb 19, 2022·Freeski Park & Pipe
The final Beijing 2022 competition to take to the slopes of Genting Snow Park went down on Saturday, where we saw the same three men who landed in the top three at the last Olympic halfpipe competition once again ascending the podium - lead by 20-year-old Nico Porteous (NZL), who made history by becoming the first man from New Zealand to win Olympic Winter Games gold with a standout performance in some challenging conditions.
Saturday at Genting Snow Park was cold and breezy, but with the massive wind fence running down the looker’s right wall of the pipe, conditions remained manageable, and 11 of the 12 men in the finals were able to put down at least one solid run in their three attempts.
The clear standout amongst them was, of course, Porteous, as he stomped a first run that proved once again that the reigning World Champion and X Games winner has taken over the mantel of ‘best-in-the-world’ in the years since he claimed bronze at PyeongChang 2018.
Starting things off with a risky switch right side 900 mute grab into a switch left double cork 1080 safety on his first two hits, Porteous then unleashed his signature right double cork 1620 mute to left double cork 1620 safety combo, stomping those clean before finishing things off with a massive left double alley-oop flatspin 900 Japan to earn himself a score of 93.00 that would withstand all challengers.
"It was really tough conditions today,” Porteous acknowledged about the weather on Saturday, “There was a bit of snow in the flat bottom as well as a bit of a headwind coming into the skiers' right wall…(but) conditions were manageable. We could run a comp and I don't think it even crossed anyone's mind to not run it.”
Porteous’ history-making win came 13 days after his compatriot Zoi Sadowski-Synnott won the first ever women’s Olympic Winter Games gold medal for New Zealand in snowboard slopestyle, and he shouted out his fellow Wanaka native as an inspiration for his performance on Saturday.
"I can't believe that we both come from a town of one thousand people, and skiing and snowboarding is our passion,” Porteous said, “We just absolutely love it. When Zoi won her gold in slopestyle was such a motivational moment for myself. I really, really, really wanted it, and that just made me put my head down and really work hard.”
Up until Porteous took the Beijing 2022 halfpipe win on Saturday, the only man to have tasted Olympic gold was Wise, who had claimed top spot at both Sochi 2014 and PyeongChang 2018.
While Wise was unable to finish the three-peat at Beijing 2022, the 31-year-old once again showed his ability to rise to the occasion on his sport’s biggest stage, claiming silver with a gutsy first run that began with a switch right 900 lead tail grab, into a switch left double cork 1080 mute, then a right 900 lead tail, a left double cork 1260 mute, and finally a massive right double cork 1260 mute that would earn him a score of 90.75 and his third-straight Olympic medal.
“It was a pretty wild day out there with the wind,” Wise send when it was all over, “But you know, that's part of our competition - you can't always schedule it on the perfect day. To come out and land my first run, obviously quite a bit of a different story from the last Olympics, but I'm just super proud to be out here still hanging in there with these guys.”
“I’m really impressed by Nico’s skiing today,” Wise went on, “He pretty much did the run he wanted to do in spite of the wind, whereas myself and Alex (Ferreira, USA, bronze medal winner), we scaled back a little bit and landed a run we thought would do well on this day. So, all in all, it was a pretty good contest. I'm stoked to be here."
One of the burlier skiers in the halfpipe world, Wise acknowledged that size might have contributed to his ability to get it done on Saturday.
“If anything, when it's really windy, it’s kind of a little bit of an advantage for me because I have these guys outweighed by 30 or 40 pounds (laughs),” Wise said, “So you know, you just kind of embrace it and say, 'All right, this is the conditions that it is'. Certainly, we would all like it to be a little nicer but you have to go out there and do what you can on this day.”
As Wise mentioned, his teammate Alex Ferreira was also able to step it up in Saturday’s finals despite the challenges, as the PyeongChang 2018 silver medallist was able to stomp his first run to grab another piece of Olympic hardware by taking Beijing 2022 bronze.
Ferreira’s 86.75-scoring first run began with a switch left 720 Japan, followed by a right double cork 1260 mute, then a left double cork 1440 safety, into a switch right double cork 1080 Japan, and finally a left double cork 1260 safety to finish things off for a score 86.75.
“I'm ecstatic,” Ferreira smiled from the mixed zone, “Just to be on the podium is unbelievable. It was such a difficult contest with some really tough conditions, so to be able to share the podium with my teammate, David Wise, and a friend, Nico Porteous, is a true joy.
“It feels unreal. We're a bunch of workhorses, I guess (laughs). The hardest workers get up on the podium and Dave's a great friend of mine. He's a good person. Nico's a good friend of mine. He inspires me. They both do every day.”
ROLLAND AND KENWORTHY BID GOODBYE TO COMPETITIVE SKIING
Also of note on Saturday were the final competition runs for two of the best to ever do it - Kevin Rolland (FRA) and Gus Kenworthy (USA).
The Sochi 2014 halfpipe bronze medallist and Inawashiro 2009 World Champion, Rolland also racked up six wins and 15 World Cup podiums in his 16-year international competition career. The 2021/22 season was Rolland’s first back in the bib after suffering catastrophic injuries while attempting to break the quarterpipe big air record back in April of 2019.
Rolland’s attempt ended in disaster, as he fell to flat from roughly 11 meters, breaking seven ribs, dislocating his pelvis, damaging his liver and lungs and suffering a concussion. He was in a coma for three days.
Now 32 years old and a father of two, Rolland was able to fight back to be amongst the best in the halfpipe world again this season, and after putting down a strong third run in Saturday’s finals for a score of 79.25 Rolland is able to walk away from competitive skiing on his own terms.
As for Kenworthy, the 30-year-old who shot to international fame eight years ago after winning Sochi 2014 slopestyle silver for his home nation of the USA and then adopting several stray dogs from the area to bring back to the States, his impact on the sport will be measured in a myriad of ways.
While Kenworthy will go down in history as one of the most stylish, progressive and well-rounded freeskiers in history, in the grander scheme of things his defining legacy will be that of a trailblazer, after coming out as a gay back in October 2015.
In a sport with such a traditionally ‘macho’ image, Kenworthy’s coming out was a watershed moment for freeskiing and so-called “extreme” sports in general, and the path he opened was a critical one to the snow sports world’s continued development towards great inclusivity and acceptance.
"This sport and the Olympics and competing on a professional level has changed my life in ways I could have never imagined,” Kenworthy said after the final run of his exceptional career, “I grew up in a town of 2,000 people, 48 kids in my graduating class. I’m gay. I felt like I just didn't fit in in sport, and to be out and proud, competing at the Olympics and all of the opportunities that have come my way since the Olympics, I couldn't be more thankful.
“I know that there's an expiration date (in this sport) and I'm at that date (laughs). That was my last competition ever. I'm happy I made it on my feet and I'm sore but I'm not hurt too bad.”
After a heavy crash in his second run, Kenworthy would put down a top-to-bottom on his third effort to finish in eighth place on Saturday, with a score of 71.25 for the final run of his career.
And, with that, the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games has come to a close for FIS Freestyle and FIS Freeski competitions after 16 days of action that were far more celebratory and full of Olympic spirit than perhaps anyone could have imagined for a Games going down during a global pandemic.
A huge thank you to the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games, the incredible staff and volunteers at Genting Snow Park and the Shougang Big Air venue, all the fans watching and cheering on around the world and, of course, the athletes for rising to the occasion and delivering inspired - and inspiring - performances, no matter what the circumstances.
It was an Olympic Games unlike any other, and perhaps it was all the more special for that.
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