BONGPYEONG, South Korea — Montana’s Maggie Voisin, competing in her second Olympics at age 19, finally landed the run of her life on Saturday, linking three huge 900s in a row on the PyeongChang Olympic slopestyle course.
After squeaking into the final as the last qualifier and scratching on her previous two attempts on the jumps, her final of three runs was enough to put her in third. But with 11 more athletes left to go in what will rank as one of the most competitive women’s ski slopestyle contests ever, it was not enough for Voisin to find her medal.
“Just putting down that run was all I could ask for. Of course it would have been great to be up on that podium but you have to take away the small wins,” said Voisin, who broke her ankle in training during the Sochi Olympics, making PyeongChang her Olympic debut. “I’m just super grateful to be out there. The overall riding by all the females, I can’t even begin to tell you … the progression of women’s freeskiing has been pushed so hard these past few years and just to be a part of it is an honor.”
Switzerland’s Sarah Hoefflin won gold with a final run that included one of the first switch double-cork tricks every thrown by a woman in slopestyle competition. Her Swiss teammate Mathilde Gremaud took silver with an equally impressive switch double-cork 1080. Isabel Atkin, a Boston-born skier who lives in Park City but skis for Great Britain, took bronze, marking the first-ever Winter Olympic skiing medal for Great Britain.
Last month the 19-year-old Atkin won a silver at the X Games slopestyle contest in Aspen as well as bronze at the world cup in Snowmass, a consistent ascent through the slopestyle ranks that culminated Saturday with Olympic bronze.
Despite living in the same town that serves as headquarters for the U.S. Ski Team, she said she’s never been tempted to join Team USA.
“I’m just really happy I can be representing Team GB,” she said, draped in a Union Jack. “I think they understand I’m a part of Team GB now.”
Devin Logan, who won silver at the Olympic debut of slopestyle in Sochi in 2014, finished 10th after struggling to land her big 720 off the second jump in her first two finals runs and then falling in the rail section on her third run.
“I wish it could have gone better but itap just skiing. I’m going to see another day. I’m going to ski another day,” said Logan, who turned 25 on Saturday and isn’t done with her Olympics yet. She will be skiing in next week’s halfpipe contest.
“Luckily enough I have halfpipe to look forward to and I’m going to use that fire and really send it,” she said.
Logan, with her mom watching in the crowd, didn’t get the result she wanted but she was proud of her attempts.
“Itap the Olympics. You gotta send it and leave nothing on the table and be happy with it, so thatap what I am,” she said.
