In Wednesday's big air final, 24-year-old Colby Stevenson earned a career-first Olympic medal in the inaugural Olympic big air competition. Stevenson donned silver behind Norway's Birk Ruud,  named the competition's "the man to beat." Sweden's Henrik Harlaut took the bronze.

Stevenson said that as he was clicking into his skis, getting read for his third hit, he was still deciding what trick he wanted to do. Go big for a switch 19, or play a bit safer and go for a switch 18 and just try to hold the grab for as long as he could. He went with the switch 18, a decision he later called smart, as it allowed him to focus on getting the trick done and not overthinking the global platform he is competing on.

Stevenson has learned a lot about the value of focus and staying present in the current moment, something that he says helps him ski his best. After surviving a skull-shattering car crash at the age of 18 that threatened his ability to function on a day-to-day, Stevenson's outlook on life shifted, which some would say has positively contributed to his skiing.

"That in itself was a miracle, surviving the car crash, so each day I focus on the little things in life and that helps me stay in the moment and be grateful," he said. "Out here today, I had the same kind of mentality, just focusing on the beauty of where we (are), being with friends, such an amazing venue, it helps you ski your best when all these outside things aren't clouding your thoughts. It's important to focus on what you do have and the things you're grateful for, and that's how you're going to do your best."

"That first trick he did, he had never done that before, he just threw it all out in the comp and laid that last jump out too which was just so epic," said his teammate Alex Hall. "Deservedly got second and skied so well I couldn't be more stoked for him."

Hall, who was also a medal favorite, threw it all out in the comp just like his teammate. On the third jump, Hall found himself in a similar position as Stevenson, play it safe or go big. So he went big. 

Hall threw a 2160, the hardest trick he has, one that earned him the X Games gold in January and put him in the history books as the first man to ever land the trick in competition. Unfortunately for Hall, he wasn't able to repeat his X Games victory in Beijing, but he remained in good spirits saying "I'm just hyped to try and give it all I got. Sometimes things just don't go your way, and it's all good."

Hall finished the comp in 8th. Mac Forehand finished 11th in his Olympic debut. 

Next the U.S. men's freeski team heads to Genting Snow Park in Zhangjiakou to compete in men's freeski slopestyle on Feb. 13.

RESULTS
Men's big air final

On Wednesday Feb. 9 in Zhangjiakou's Genting Snow Park, Lindsey Jacobellis of the U.S. women's snowboard cross team took home the first gold medal for Team USA this Olympic Games. 

Jacobellis is a veteran on the U.S. team at the age of 36. This is her fifth Winter Olympic Games. Yet the team leader had yet to secure a gold medal in the big final. Victory evaded her, first in the 2006 Winter Games in Torino, when she fell coming over the last jump after leading the entire race and finished the day with a silver. In 2010 in Vancouver, she swerved off in a semifinal heat and did not qualify for the big final. In 2014, she stumbled and once again missed the final in Sochi. In Pyeongchang in 2018, she made the big final, but was edged out of the top spots and finished fourth.

Finally, in the 2022 Beijing Winter Games, Jacobellis' grabbed the gold she had been chasing for the past 16 years, making her the most seasoned snowboarder in Olympic history to medal at the Games. 

"The level that the women are riding at is a lot higher than it was 16 years ago, so I felt like a winner just because I made it into finals because that's been a challenge every time," said Jacobellis. "All these ladies out here have the potential to win and today it just worked out for me."

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"I think she already knows, but everything that [Lindsey] is feeling right now is everything that we want to tell her," said her teammate and seventh-place finisher Stacey Gaskill. "But when I see her next, I think I'll say, 'it's about time. You earned it, and there's no better deserving person to stand on that top step today.'"

Gaskill qualified for semifinals alongside Jacobellis, but was pushed out of the top two and moved into the small final. She finished the day in 7th after crashing in her last run, a top 10 finish for her Olympic debut. Meghan Tierney and Faye Gulini's competition ended in the quarter final where the women finished 12th and 13th respectively.

RESULTS
Women's Snowboard Cross Finals 

In an emotional race on Tuesday, Feb. 8, Ryan Cochran-Siegle became the fourth U.S. man to win an Olympic medal in super G in Team USA's history, taking home the silver.

Cochran-Siegle finished just four-hundredths behind gold medalist Mattias Mayer in a nail-biting run that looked nearly flawless to the naked eye. Wearing bib 14, Cochran-Siegle just hoped the time would hold. He sat 0.38 seconds before third-place finisher, Aleksander Aamodt Kilde, who would go on to be the day's bronze medalist.

It wasn't until the 30th racer headed down the course that the moment really began to sink in. Just 364 days before, Cochran-Siegle walked out of his hospital bed for the first time after neck surgery, an injury sustained in a crash during the Kitzbuehel downhill. Forty-nine years and 354 days earlier, his mother, Barbara Ann Cochran, won slalom gold in the 1972 Olympics in Sapporo, Japan. Now here he was in Beijing, on the brink of holding a medal of his own.

"It's surreal; it'd be hard to write a better story," chuckled Cochran-Siegle in a post-race interview. "It's full circle."

Happy, relieved, and a little bit proud, Cochran-Siegle said that he was just trying to appreciate the moment, a childhood dream come to fruition on a beautiful bluebird day at the Yanqing Alpine National Ski Center. After an emotional interview with NBC, where Cochran-Siegle fought back tears as he attempted to wrap his head around the possibility of his first Olympic medal, he hopped on the phone to FaceTime with his mom and his older sister Cate. They stayed up to watch the race back at home in Vermont. 

"I knew that he was capable of doing it," Barbara Ann shared through tears. "...You just never know on a particular day whether or not that’s going to happen, so I’m so so proud."

"Part of me recognized I was skiing well, and I had to trust that and fight all the way for the finish," said Cochran-Siegle. "You dream of these moments, you see it in your mind and at times you have to put it away and just focus on the skiing which is what I was doing today. But to come down and see that I was in second, and that we were a ways ahead...I mean it was wild."

Cochran-Siegle's medal is the first alpine medal of the Winter Olympic Games in Beijing 2022. 

His teammates, Travis Ganong, River Radamus, and Bryce Bennett, finished 12th, 15th, and 17th, rounding out the day with four Americans in the super G top 20, matching Team Germany for the most men from any one nation to break into the top 20. Radamus, who skied in his Olympic debut on Tuesday, fought hard for a top 15 slot from the back fo the pack wearing bib 33.

Up next on the men's alpine docket is the men's giant slalom on Saturday, Feb. 12. The women take on the slalom on Wednesday, Feb. 9, airing on Tuesday evening Eastern time.

Check out NBC Olympic's exclusive interview with Cochran-Siegle, and a replay of his silver medal run on YouTube.

RESULTS 
Men's super G 

It was a historic night at the Kuyangshu Nordic Center, Zhangjiakou, China, as Jessie Diggins won the bronze medal in the freestyle sprint, and led seven Americans into the top 25, including Rosie Brennan in fourth.

“I am so grateful and thankful for our team,” said Diggins, who won the first U.S. women’s individual Olympic medal. “We had amazing skis, and we have had so much support … and then we had seven people make the heats - that’s amazing!”

Ben Ogden took an interesting route to post the best-ever U.S. men’s sprint result in 12th, JC Schoonmaker was 15th, Julia Kern 18th, Kevin Bolger 17th, and Luke Jager 25th. Sweden’s Jonna Sundling took the gold, which countrywomen Maja Dahlqvist won the silver. Norway’s Johannes Klaebo took the gold on the men's side, with Italy’s Federico Pellegrino winning the silver and the Russian Olympic Committee’s Alexander Terentev taking the bronze.

Team USA advanced three women and four men into the heats Tuesday night. Brennan set the fastest afternoon qualifying time for the Americans, opening the evening heats in remarkable fashion by coming back from a missed pole plant at the start of the first heat that resulted in a slight fall to finish second. 

“I certainly made that interesting,” Brennan said after finishing her quarterfinal heat, adding that it was one of the hardest races she had ever done. 

Diggins easily won the fourth quarterfinal heat, while Kern finished fourth in the fifth heat.

In the opening men’s quarterfinal heat, which proved one of the fastest, Ogden finished fourth but sat as the second lucky loser based on time through the fourth heat when China’s Qiang Wang knocked him out. However, Wang was disqualified following the fifth and final quarterfinal heat due to obstruction, so Ogden, who had already removed his bib and timing chips, scrambled to get back to the start to prepare for the semifinals. 

Racing in the first semifinals, Ogden skied the best race of his life so far. Despite finishing sixth, he was in the mix throughout the race, finishing just 1.24 seconds back from race winner Klaebo.

In the women’s semifinals, Diggins finished second to advance to the finals, while Brennan was fourth but advanced to the finals as one of two Lucky Losers - a historic first for the U.S. women with two in the finals. Sundling opened a slight advantage at the halfway point in the finals and held it to the finish. Meanwhile, Diggins rallied from fourth position coming into the final 300 meters, and Brennan rallied from fifth.

When Diggins crossed the line, she had no idea she had won the bronze medal. “I didn’t believe it,” she said. “I had to look up a few times on the (score)board, and I was scared to celebrate early in case it wasn’t true.” She finally realized she had won another Olympic medal when she looked over and saw her teammates and Team USA staff celebrating. 

Up next, the women compete in the 10k classic on Thursday, and the men race the 15k classic Friday.

RESULTS
Women’s Freestyle Sprint
Men’s Freestyle Sprint

Nina O’Brien was on track to capture one of the best finishes of her career in the Winter Olympic Games giant slalom on Monday, Feb. 7. She came into the second run wearing bib 21, sitting in sixth behind Norway's Ragnhild Mowinckel. On the hunt for a medal in her Olympic debut, O’Brien pushed throughout the entirety of the course.

A fast run took an unfortunate turn of events at the final gate when O’Brien caught an edge and spiraled into an aggressive crash best described as a chaotic jumble of limbs and skis. She was immediately attended to by on-course medical staff. After further evaluation, it was announced O'Brien sustained a compound fracture of her left tibia and fibula just short of the finish. She was transported to the hospital in Yanqing where an initial stabilization procedure was successfully performed by local doctors, and she received excellent care. She will return to the US for further evaluation and care.

O'Brien would like to express her gratitude to all of the people who assisted her so quickly in the finish area at the race, and especially to the doctors and nurses at the hospital who have taken such great care of her. 

Darian Stevens of Missoula, Montana made it a point to go down in history this Winter Olympic Games as one of the 12 women who competed in the first big air final in Olympic history. Stevens finished 11th overall, but not for lack of trying.

Monday's competition at the Big Air Shougang jump in Beijing was the first final she has qualified for in big air so far this season. After throwing a switch 1080 in her opening run, and falling a bit flat on her second run, Stevens took a look into the broadcast camera and said "gotta go big in big air, right?"

She knew she had one last shot to show the world what she's made of, and she did just that.

In an attempt to keep up with the progression of tricks demonstrated by the rest of the field, Stevens made the risky decision to go for a double cork 1440 in her third run, a trick she had tried for the first time in practice the same day. She didn't land it, but she did ski away with a huge smile on her face.

"I don't compete in big air a lot, but I do think it's really fun," said Stevens. "It's an event where you bring out the best tricks you can do and lay it all out on the line, and that's what I did today."

"It's kind of crazy, to try a double for the first time in Olympic final practice, but it felt like the right time, so I just gave her a rip today," she added. "I went a little bigger than I thought, and over-rotated a tad bit, but it was not too bad. I'm happy to just come out and show the world a trick they didn't know I could do."

Keeping up with the progression of tricks was the biggest challenge of the day. Each athlete was pushing their limit, and thus pushing the sport. NBC commentator Tom Wallisch called the event one of the most progressive freeski events he had ever watched.

Eileen Gu, a San Francisco native competing for China, threw a double cork 1620 – a trick she had never attempted in competition – to make her bid for gold. Silver medalist Tess Leduex of France and bronze medalist Mathilde Gremaud of Switzerland pushed her to the limit, as each woman stomped a double cork 1440 at some point throughout the competition.

After an emotional finish Tuesday's big air final, the women move on to compete in freeski slopestyle qualifiers on Saturday, Feb. 12.

RESULTS
Women's freeski big air finals
 

HOW TO WATCH
*All times EST

Please note: Streaming services and apps are third-party services and subject to such parties’ terms of use and data privacy. U.S. Ski & Snowboard disclaims any and all liability for use of third-party services and apps.

Monday, Feb. 7, 2022
12:30 a.m. Freestyle Skiing – Men's Big Air Qualifying, Big Air Shougang, Beijing, CHN, USA Network, NBCOlympics.com, Streaming Peacock
8:00 p.m. Primetime Freestyle Skiing Women's Big Air, Alpine Skiing Men's Super G, NBC Broadcast
9:00 p.m. Freestyle Skiing – Women's Big Air Final, Big Air Shougang, Beijing, CHN, NBCOlympics.com, Streaming Peacock

Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2022
2:00 a.m. West Coast Encore – Women’s Big Air Final, Men’s super G & more, NBC Broadcast
8:00 p.m. Primetime Broadcast – Snowboarding Women’s Halfpipe, Alpine Women’s Slalom, Freestyle Men’s Big Air, NBC Broadcast
10:00 p.m. Freestyle – Men’s Big Air Final, Big Air Shougang, Beijing, CHN, NBCOlympics.com, Streaming Peacock

Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2022
2:00 a.m. Primetime – Snowboarding Women’s Halfpipe Qualifying, Alpine Skiing Women’s Slalom, Freestyle Men’s Big Air (re-air), NBC Broadcast
5:00 a.m. Primetime – Snowboarding Women’s Halfpipe Qualifying, Alpine Skiing Women’s Slalom, Freestyle Men’s Big Air (re-air), NBC Broadcast
6:30 a.m. 2022 Winter Olympics Medal Ceremonies Day 5, NBC Broadcast

Defending Olympic gold medalist Red Gerard finished fourth in the Olympic Winter Games slopestyle finals on Monday, Feb. 7. 

Gerard put down his best run right out of the gate in the best-of-three-run finals at Genting Snow Park. His run featured technical and stylish combinations through the three-part rail section, 50-50 to backside 360 50-50, into the drop-off rail with a frontside 180 on to switch backside 540 out, finishing with a backside noseslide 450 out. Gerard sent it through the jumps, landing a switch backside 1620 Indy, into a frontside double cork 1080 Weddle, finishing with a backside 1620 method—a huge run earning a modest score of 83.25. 

“Definitely would have liked to be on the podium—didn’t fully agree with the judging, but that’s okay, that’s the way it goes,” said Gerard. “I was really happy I was able to put down a run I’ve always wanted to do and this course was incredible, it treated us awesome.” While this marks the first time the U.S. Team has missed the top spot on the Olympic slopestyle podium since the event premiered in 2014, Gerard is already looking ahead to WInter Olympics Milano Cortina 2026—his prediction, “It’ll be a sweep there.” 

Chris Corning followed in sixth place with a score of 65.11, putting his best run down on his final attempt, but not improving over his fourth place finish in PyeongChang 2018. First time Olympian Sean FitzSimons finished in twelfth, unable to put down a run despite qualifying in third coming into these finals and settling for a score of 29.61.

Canada’s Max Parrot earned gold with a score of 90.96, followed by China’s Su Yuming with a score of 88.70 for silver, and Canada’s Mark McMorris with an 88.53 to earn his third Olympic bronze medal.

The U.S. slopestyle team will be back at it in Big Air with qualifiers scheduled for Feb. 14th.

RESULTS
Men's slopestyle final

HOW TO WATCH
*All times EST

Please note: Streaming services and apps are third-party services and subject to such parties’ terms of use and data privacy. U.S. Ski & Snowboard disclaims any and all liability for use of third-party services and apps.

Monday, Feb. 7, 2022
6:00 p.m. Primetime Snowboard Big Air Finals, NBC Broadcast
9:40 p.m. Snowboarding – M/W Parallel Giant Slalom Qualifying, Genting Snow Park, Zhangjiakou, CHN, NBCOlympics.com, Streaming Peacock

Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2022
12:00 p.m. Snowboarding – Men’s and Women’s Parallel Giant Slalom Finals, Genting Snow Park, Zhangjiakou, CHN,  USA Network
8:00 p.m. Primetime Broadcast – Snowboarding Women’s Halfpipe, Alpine Women’s Slalom, Freestyle Mewn’s Big Air, NBC Broadcast
8:30 p.m. Snowboarding – Women’s Halfpipe Qualifying, Secret Garden, CHN, USA Network, Streaming Peacock, NBCOlympics.com
10:00 p.m. Snowboarding – Women’s Snowboard Cross Qualifiers, Genting Snow Park, Zhangjiakou, CHN,  USA Network, NBCOlympics.com, Streaming Peacock
11:30 p.m. Snowboarding – Men’s Halfpipe Qualifying, Genting Snow Park, Zhangjiakou, CHN, NBCOlympics.com, Streaming Peacock, NBC Broadcast

Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2022
1:30 a.m. Snowboarding – Women’s Snowboard Cross Finals, Genting Snow Park, Zhangjiakou, CHN,  USA Network, NBCOlympics.com, Streaming Peacock
2:00 a.m. Primetime – Snowboarding Women’s Halfpipe Qualifying, Alpine Skiing Women’s Slalom, Freestyle Men’s Big Air (re-air), NBC Broadcast
5:00 a.m. Primetime – Snowboarding Women’s Halfpipe Qualifying, Alpine Skiing Women’s Slalom, Freestyle Men’s Big Air (re-air), NBC Broadcast
2:00 p.m. Daytime – Alpine Skiing Women’s Slalom, Nordic Combined Men’s Normal Hill & 10km, Snowboarding Women’s Snowboardcross Final, NBC Broadcast
8:00 p.m. Primetime – Snowboarding Women’s Halfpipe, NBC Broadcast
10:15 p.m. Snowboarding – Mens’ Snowboard Cross Qualifying, Genting Snow Park, Zhangjiakou, CHN, NBCOlympics.com, Streaming Peacock
10:50 p.m. Snowboarding – Mens’ Snowboard Cross Qualifying, Genting Snow Park, Zhangjiakou, CHN,  USA Network

Thursday, Feb. 10, 2022
1:00 a.m. Snowboarding – Mens’ Snowboard Cross Finals, Genting Snow Park, Zhangjiakou, CHN,  USA Network, NBCOlympics.com, Streaming Peacock
2:00 a.m. West Coast Encore – Snowboarding Men’s Halfpipe Final, Genting Snow Park, Zhangjiakou, CHN, NBC Broadcast
6:30 a.m. 2022 Winter Olympics Medal Ceremonies Day 6, Streaming Peacock, NBCOlympics.com
8:00 p.m. Primetime – Alpine Skiing Women’s Super G (Live), Snowboarding Men’s Halfpipe Final (Live), Freestyle Mixed Team Aerials Final, NBC Broadcast
8:30 p.m. Snowboarding – Men’s Halfpipe Final, Genting Snow Park, Zhangjiakou, CHN, NBCOlympics.com, Streaming Peacock

Friday, Feb. 11, 2022
1:00 p.m. West Coast Encore – Alpine Skiing Super G (re-air), Freestyle Skiing Aerials Final, Snowboarding Men’s Halfpipe Final, NBC Broadcast
4:05 a.m. Primetime – Alpine Skiing Super G (re-air), Freestyle Skiing Aerials Final, Snowboarding Men’s Halfpipe Final, NBC Broadcast
6:00 a.m. 2022 Winter Olympics Medal Ceremonies Day 7, Streaming Peacock, NBCOlympics.com
8:00 p.m. Primetime – Alpine Skiing Women’s Downhill (Live) & Snowboarding Mixed Team Snowboardcross (Live), NBC Broadcast
9:00 p.m. Snowboarding – Mixed Team Snowboard Cross, Genting Snow Park, Zhangjiakou, CHN, Streaming Peacock, NBCOlympics.com

USA's Darian Stevens has qualified as the sole American for women's freeski big air final to be held Tuesday, Feb. 8 at the Big Air Shougang jump in Beijing, China. She finished eighth in the top 12 qualifiers.

The 25-year-old opened with a switch 1080 with a safety grab in her first run, scoring a 84.75, to help secure her appearance in the final at her second Winter Olympic Games. After struggling with some speed issues on her second jump, the pressure was on for Stevens to pull out a decent score on her third jump to make it to the final. Stevens rose to the occasion, and scored 152 overall.

"There was a lot of pressure riding on that third jump, but I'm really happy to land it," said Stevens. "When I dropped in, I had a good feeling about it, and I knew it was going to be alright. Sometimes you just get a different vibe, and I knew that I had that one and that I was gonna be good."

Canada's Meghan Oldham and France's Tess Ledeux lead the field of twelve athletes that will move onto Tuesday's final. Park City's 20-year-old Marin Hamill came up just short of qualification in her Olympic debut, finishing in 14th overall just ahead of her teammate Maggie Voisin in 15th.

"I had a blast with my first Olympics," reflected Hamill. "I got to land all three runs and I couldn't ask for anything more. You ski your best when you're having fun and that's all I'm here to do."

Caroline Claire took a spill in her second run, and chose to pull out of the third as consequence of the crash. In December, Claire broke her shoulder throwing the same trick, and has been battling to overcome the mental blocks holding her back from stomping the landing. She is sore but walked away from Monday's competition okay.

The women's contingency of freeski big air skiers jump right back into the final competition on Tuesday, Feb. 7 at the Big Air Shougang jump, which will air in the evening on Monday, Feb. 6 in Eastern time zones.

RESULTS
Women's freeski big air qualification
 

HOW TO WATCH
*All times EST

Please note: Streaming services and apps are third-party services and subject to such parties’ terms of use and data privacy. U.S. Ski & Snowboard disclaims any and all liability for use of third-party services and apps.

Monday, Feb. 7, 2022
12:30 a.m. Freestyle Skiing – Men's Big Air Qualifying, Big Air Shougang, Beijing, CHN, USA Network, NBCOlympics.com, Streaming Peacock
8:00 p.m. Primetime Freestyle Skiing Women's Big Air, Alpine Skiing Men's Super G, NBC Broadcast
9:00 p.m. Freestyle Skiing – Women's Big Air Final, Big Air Shougang, Beijing, CHN, NBCOlympics.com, Streaming Peacock

Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2022
2:00 a.m. West Coast Encore – Women’s Big Air Final, Men’s super G & more, NBC Broadcast
8:00 p.m. Primetime Broadcast – Snowboarding Women’s Halfpipe, Alpine Women’s Slalom, Freestyle Men’s Big Air, NBC Broadcast
10:00 p.m. Freestyle – Men’s Big Air Final, Big Air Shougang, Beijing, CHN, NBCOlympics.com, Streaming Peacock

Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2022
2:00 a.m. Primetime – Snowboarding Women’s Halfpipe Qualifying, Alpine Skiing Women’s Slalom, Freestyle Men’s Big Air (re-air), NBC Broadcast
5:00 a.m. Primetime – Snowboarding Women’s Halfpipe Qualifying, Alpine Skiing Women’s Slalom, Freestyle Men’s Big Air (re-air), NBC Broadcast
6:30 a.m. 2022 Winter Olympics Medal Ceremonies Day 5, NBC Broadcast

Freeski Big Air competitions kicked off its qualification round on Monday, Feb. 7, for both men and women, seeing three U.S. men qualify for their final round on Wednesday. Feb. 9. Alex Hall, Colby Stevenson, and Mac Forehand will represent Team USA. 

In the big air qualification round, athletes have three runs to show what they've got. The best two of three scores are then counted toward their overall points. From there, the field is narrowed to the top 12 athletes who will move on to the final round for a chance to medal. 

Alex Hall threw down a massive 1980 with his signature Buick grab on his second run and a switch 1800 in his third run to take second overall in the qualifiers, seven points behind Norway's Birk Ruud.

"Birk is one of the best skiers in the world, especially in big air," commented U.S. teammate Mac Forehand, who also qualified for finals with an eighth-place finish. "I think he's got two really good tricks that are scoring really high, and everyone saw today how much higher he was above everybody else in the qualifying, so it's going to take a lot (to take him down)."

Hall knows that competition in the men's field is steep, but that's part of what makes the sport so fun for him and the rest of the boys. After each stomped trick, the start house was full of cheering men stoked to see their fellow competitors giving their all, pushing themselves and the sport to the limit.

"Our sport progresses so much, and it's been progressing a ton the past couple years, and when you get a venue this good and a jump this good, and everyone feeding each other, this is just what happens naturally," explained Hall. "We all push each other to do our best, and as long as we're all skiing our best, we're all hyped on that. You can't ask for much more."

Colby Stevenson, who missed the Olympics in 2018 due to a shoulder injury, showed up strong in his Olympic debut scoring 174.25 to finish fifth. 

"Wednesday it could be anyone's day," said Stevenson. "We're going to go out there and throw down the biggest tricks we've ever done and just have a good time."

Fellow American Nick Geopper did not qualify for finals after giving what he could, saying he went for "a big swing" but went a "little bit too big" in Monday's qualifiers.

RESULTS
Men's freeski big air qualification
 

HOW TO WATCH
*All times EST

Please note: Streaming services and apps are third-party services and subject to such parties’ terms of use and data privacy. U.S. Ski & Snowboard disclaims any and all liability for use of third-party services and apps.

Monday, Feb. 7, 2022
12:30 a.m. Freestyle Skiing – Men's Big Air Qualifying, Big Air Shougang, Beijing, CHN, USA Network, NBCOlympics.com, Streaming Peacock
8:00 p.m. Primetime Freestyle Skiing Women's Big Air, Alpine Skiing Men's Super G, NBC Broadcast
9:00 p.m. Freestyle Skiing – Women's Big Air Final, Big Air Shougang, Beijing, CHN, NBCOlympics.com, Streaming Peacock

Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2022
2:00 a.m. West Coast Encore – Women’s Big Air Final, Men’s super G & more, NBC Broadcast
8:00 p.m. Primetime Broadcast – Snowboarding Women’s Halfpipe, Alpine Women’s Slalom, Freestyle Men’s Big Air, NBC Broadcast
10:00 p.m. Freestyle – Men’s Big Air Final, Big Air Shougang, Beijing, CHN, NBCOlympics.com, Streaming Peacock

Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2022
2:00 a.m. Primetime – Snowboarding Women’s Halfpipe Qualifying, Alpine Skiing Women’s Slalom, Freestyle Men’s Big Air (re-air), NBC Broadcast
5:00 a.m. Primetime – Snowboarding Women’s Halfpipe Qualifying, Alpine Skiing Women’s Slalom, Freestyle Men’s Big Air (re-air), NBC Broadcast
6:30 a.m. 2022 Winter Olympics Medal Ceremonies Day 5, NBC Broadcast

In her Olympic debut, Paula Moltzan posted the top finish for the U.S. women in Monday's giant slalom, tying with Norway's Maria Therese Tviberg in 12th. Moltzan, known for her prowess in the slalom, had minimal expectations for herself coming into Sunday's giant slalom. She just hoped to ski well. A quick bauble and an acrobatic save kept her in the fold and earned her the top finish for Team USA.

"I'm happy to be a little bit flexible," she laughed. 

Mikaela Shiffrin, who walked into the day's race carrying the weight of gold-medal expectations on her shoulders, did not finish her first run, skiing out around the fifth gate. 

The mistake was uncharacteristic of Shiffrin. When asked if she ever skis out in giant slalom, her response was "rarely." She knows questions will be asked, questions like "what went wrong." The meticulous skier spends so much time in training learning how to limit her risk of crashing that doing so in the Olympics is a shock to many. But Shiffrin knows she was pushing the first four turns. She knows where her mentality was at. Despite what she called a 'huge disappointment,' Shiffrin is already on to the next one. 

"We point blame at a lot of places in the season, but I think the easiest thing to say is that I skied a couple good turns and I skied one turn a bit wrong, and I paid the hardest consequence for that. Now we have to move forward because there’s a lot still to come the next week."

The defending giant slalom Olympic gold medalist was not the only top skier who struggled right out of the gate. Italy's Marta Bassino of Italy made a similar mistake on the same gate and skied out of the course. New Zealand's Alice Robinson also lost her cool on the top section of the first run. 

In the finish tent, Shiffrin stepped aside to take a moment to herself before facing the questions she knew were coming. In the same moment, Robinson sat crying and was being consoled by her physio. Shiffrin took notice and shared some words of wisdom. 

"Stop crying," she said. "You can’t afford to lose that emotional energy right now. You got more shots. Figure out what you can figure out, and then you just have to let the rest go."

"It's just hard," responded Alice.

"Oh yeah, I know - that fourth and a half gate is a real b*tch."

Nina O'Brien made it through that fourth gate in both runs. Coming into her second, O'Brien was sitting sixth overall, on the edge of what could be a career-best result for her in the giant slalom. She pushed the limits and hauled through each turn, bobbling, then recovering, and continuing to carry speed despite her mistakes. Then, at the last gate, O'Brien caught an edge and crashed unexpectedly in a chaotic tangle of limbs and skis. She remained alert and responsive as medical staff rushed into the finish to tend to her, only concerned about holding up the race and how fast she was skiing. O'Brien has been transported with Team USA's medical staff for further evaluation. At the moment, there are no updates as to the extent of her injuries. 

"I mean, we're at the Olympics," Moltzan commented when asked why she thinks so many athletes struggled on Sunday. "I think everyone is just trying to get their best skiing out there, and people are pushing to the limit, and when that happens, there's a breaking point."

The race went on to see Sweden's Sara Hector at the top of the podium, winning her first-ever Olympic gold. Italy's Federica Brignone took silver and Switzerland's Lara Gut-Behrami bronze. Fellow American AJ Hurt did not finish her first run.

RESULTS
Women's giant slalom

HOW TO WATCH
*All times EST

Please note: Streaming services and apps are third-party services and subject to such parties’ terms of use and data privacy. U.S. Ski & Snowboard disclaims any and all liability for use of third-party services and apps.

Monday, Feb. 7, 2022
8:00 p.m. Primetime Freestyle Skiing Women's Big Air, Alpine Skiing Men's Super G, NBC Broadcast
10:00 p.m. Alpine Skiing – Men's Super G, National Alpine Skiing Center, Yanqing District, Beijing, CHN, NBCOlympics.com, Streaming Peacock

Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2022
2:00 a.m. West Coast Encore – Women’s Big Air Final, Men’s super G & more, NBC Broadcast
8:00 p.m. Primetime Broadcast – Snowboarding Women’s Halfpipe, Alpine Women’s Slalom, Freestyle Mewn’s Big Air, NBC Broadcast
9:15 p.m. Alpine Skiing – Women’s Slalom Run 1, National Alpine Skiing Center, Yanqing District, Beijing, CHN, NBCOlympics.com, Streaming Peacock

Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2022
12:45 a.m. Alpine – Alpine Skiing – Women’s Slalom Run 2, National Alpine Skiing Center, Yanqing District, Beijing, CHN, NBCOlympics.com, Streaming Peacock
2:00 a.m. Primetime – Snowboarding Women’s Halfpipe Qualifying, Alpine Skiing Women’s Slalom, Freestyle Men’s Big Air (re-air), NBC Broadcast
5:00 a.m. Primetime – Snowboarding Women’s Halfpipe Qualifying, Alpine Skiing Women’s Slalom, Freestyle Men’s Big Air (re-air), NBC Broadcast
2:00 p.m. Daytime – Alpine Skiing Women’s Slalom, Nordic Combined Men’s Normal Hill & 10km, Snowboarding Women’s Snowboardcross Final, NBC Broadcast
9:30 p.m. Alpine Skiing – Men’s Combined Downhill, National Alpine Skiing Center, Yanqing District, Beijing, CHN, NBCOlympics.com, Streaming Peacock

Thursday, Feb. 10, 2022
1:05 a.m. Primetime Plus – Alpine Skiing – Men’s Alpine Combined Slalom, NBC Broadcast
1:15 a.m. Alpine Skiing, Men’s Combined Slalom, National Alpine Skiing Center, Yanqing District, Beijing, CHN, NBCOlympics.com, Streaming Peacock
8:00 p.m. Primetime – Alpine Skiing Women’s Super G (Live), Snowboarding Men’s Halfpipe Final (Live), Freestyle Mixed Team Aerials Final, NBC Broadcast
10:00 p.m. Alpine Skiing – Women’s Super G, National Alpine Skiing Center, Yanqing District, Beijing, CHN, Streaming Peacock, NBCOlympics.com