BONGPYEONG, South Korea — Silverthorne board-riding phenom Red Gerard stepped up in the highest pressure contest of his life and earned the U.S. its first gold of the PyeongChang Olympics on Sunday.
On his final of three runs, the easy-going 17-year-old spun a technical, creative run through the course’s byzantine rails — which he called a jungle — and then stomped huge airs, culminating with a flawless triple-cork 1440.
Gerard was the only competitor among the top 12 to hit a quarter-pipe launch on the second jump. The jump posed a problem for him on his first two laps through the course. He thought, briefly, about taking the main jump, but said his spin – a double-cork 1080 – off the main hit would not impress the judges.
“Itap a little bit different and I try to be different in my runs. I just look for different lines,” he said following dozens of interviews with international media at the base of the slopestyle course. “I felt like it was a good run. I was really excited on that. I was just hoping to make the podium.”
His third run pushed him from 11th to the top of a finals laden with four Norwegians and four Canadians – the superpowers of slopestyle. After his final run, with a score of 87.16, there were four more riders to go. Those riders were the sportap heaviest of hitters though.
Canadian slopestyle superstar Mark McMorris, who held the lead for most of the competition before Gerard’s final run, bobbled on his final lap. So did Norway’s teenage phenom Marcus Kleveland.
Canada’s Max Parrot, the top qualifier, stomped his tricks in the final run of the contest, but it wasn’t enough to unseat Gerard. Parrot thought about trying that quarter-pipe hit on the second jump but decided against it.
“Too dangerous for sure,” Parrot said. “Red took a big risk and it paid off. I think the judges really liked that. He had a pretty creative run.”
As he waited for Parrot’s score, Gerard stood in the finish corral holding his head. Behind him, more than a dozen of his friends and family raged, waving a placard reading “We’re here to get Gerarded” along with giant pictures of his face. Gerard leaned over the fence and chatted with IOC president Thomas Bach.
“He just said, ‘What were you think during all those spins? And I said I just wanted to land a run and that was about it,” Gerard said.
Parrot’s 86-point final run bumped his Canadian teammate McMorris to bronze, a second third-place Olympic finish for McMorris, whose best run scored 85.2 points.
Gerard said he didn’t realize just how big the Olympics are. He grew up watching the Dew Tour and X Games, the biggest events in snowboarding.
“The Olympics to me is just another snowboarding event. I’m just happy it brings everyone together and we can have a good competition,” he said.
Gusting winds tamped down the trickery on Sunday. Blowing hard up the hill, riders were slowed as they approached the 60-foot jumps. That prevented the sport’s most technical spinners — like McMorris, Parrot, Kleveland and Sebastien Toutant — from spinning quad-corks or spinning more than 1440s. That helped Gerard, whose finals’ runs closely mirrored the run he threw down in qualifying the previous day.
“I think today being windy and not the best day for all the heavy hitters to do their best run was actually the best thing for Red,” said Toutant. “If it had been a perfect day … it would have been a different story.”
But don’t think Toutant is miffed. He celebrated the ascension of Gerard.
“He loves snowboarding. He actually enjoys snowboarding and you can see he will be snowboarding until he can’t do it anymore,” Toutant said. “Itap good to have someone like that winning today. He is always hyped up and he has a fun personality and thatap good for snowboarding.”
As he walked away from the venue, heading to doping and a news conference, dozens of his friends, family and fans roared. He embraced his mom and dad and his siblings. They beamed and screamed.
A few minutes earlier someone asked Gerard how much fun they were having
“I’m sure it’s a ton,” he said. “I’m pretty sure I saw a video of them shotgunning beers at 8:30 a.m., so I’m pretty sure they are doing just fine.”
Let’s Talk Olympics
ٱ:Snowboarder Red Gerard vying for slopestyle, big air Olympic glory
