Five rounds of slopestyle will determine the women’s Olympic champion. Here’s how to watch the qualifying runs and the finals live from South Korea.
Slopestyle made its Olympic debut four years ago in Sochi. North American skiers dominated the competition, with Canada’s Dara Howell dominating all comers for the gold. Devin Logan of the United States came in second ahead of another Canadian, Kim Lamarre.
If the FIS World Cup standings are any indication of who might emerge victorious this year, though, we could see a changing of the guard. None of the podium finishers from four years ago are back in Pyeongchang, opening the door for a new champion to step forward.
Americans and Canadians will have a tough time factoring into the final result. The top American, Caroline Claire, is ranked fifth in the world entering the Olympics. Elena Gaskell, the top-ranked Canadian, is even further down in eighth.
Instead, a slew of European stars could emerge on the podium this time around. Jennie-Lee Burmansson of Sweden is just 15 years old, but she is among the favorites to medal. Burmansson is currently leading the World Cup standings and recently claimed bronze at this year’s X Games in Aspen.
A pair of Norwegians will also factor into who walks away with gold. Tiril Sjaastad Christiansen and Johanne Killi are right behind Burmansson in the World Cup standings. Christiansen, a four-time medalist in slopestyle at the X Games, will look to finally add Olympic gold to her trophy case. Killi has a pair of bronze medals from Aspen and will try to get the better of her teammate.
The qualifying rounds will take place in prime time in the United States, as the field gets trimmed down to the final cut. Finals transpire a few hours later, allowing for resolution all in one night.
Here’s how you can watch the Olympic freeski slopestyle live.
Date: Friday, Feb. 16
Time: 8:00 p.m. ET (qualifying), 11:00 p.m. ET (finals)
Location: Pyeongchang, South Korea
Venue: Phoenix Park
Live Stream: NBC Olympics, FuboTV
Keep it tuned in here are we bring you the latest live streams and updated results for each freestyle skiing event over the course of the 2018 Winter Olympics.