ZHANGJIAKOU, China — Laurie Blouin went all out in her third and final run of slopestyle competition at the Beijing Olympics on Sunday. With a score of 81.41 points, this third run improved her fate, but still left her at the foot of the podium.
A small error in the second rail module – a little too much to the side of it, not sufficiently “flat” on top – possibly cost her the three or so points missing to edge Australian Tess Coady (84, 15), also bronze medalist at the last Worlds.
“I knew it wasn’t going to be enough,” said the second-place finisher in South Korea four years ago. Just with the small error in the second module, I knew it. I didn’t even expect to have such a high score: I still improved my lot. »
The Quebec snowboarder, fifth after her second descent on the Genting Snow Park trail in Zhangjiakou, felt she had what it took to climb into the top three.
“I thought it was still possible. If I hadn’t made this mistake on the second module, that might have been enough. It doesn’t matter, it happens. »
The 25-year-old, world champion in 2017, did not seem too downhearted by this cruel position in the standings.
“I think it’s harder than being sixth or seventh. Just a few dots below. I still think I’ll be able to enjoy it in a few days. There, I have a lot of emotions to manage, but there are worse than that. »
“It’s okay, I’m happy. I really wasn’t far. These are just small mistakes that I couldn’t afford to get on the podium. But I’m pretty happy. The final was crazy. »
This final also ended with a huge exclamation point, while the New Zealander Zoi Sadowski Synnott came to steal the gold medal from the American Julia Marino.
Last to go, Sadowski Synnott produced an impeccable descent punctuated by a huge jump on the last ramp, a backward somersault with a triple twist launched in an inverted position from a breathtaking height!
The gold medalist from the last two World Championships collected 92.88 points, edging Marino (87.68) by just over five points and gave New Zealand their first ever gold medal at the Winter Games.
“Zoi is a machine. She is really good. His last jump, it was completely crazy. We are a few girls to do this jump, but she went so big, I don’t know how she managed to land, ”said Blouin, still in shock from this last descent.
“It was really a beautiful day. We showed the world what women’s snowboarding is, compared to Pyeongchang,” she added.
Chasing a third consecutive Olympic title, American Jamie Anderson had a tougher day and finished ninth.
Ditto for Finland’s Enni Rukajarvi, bronze medalist at the 2018 Olympics and silver in 2014, who has been unable to collect a third consecutive podium since the discipline was added to the Olympic program. She finished in seventh place.
Blouin will now turn his attention to the big jump, which will be presented on February 14 and 15 at the Shougang ski jump, on the outskirts of Beijing.
“We will see what will happen. I’m going to ride the wave, with the same mentality I had for slopestyle,” she concluded.
Women’s slopestyle ranking :
1. Zoi Sadowski Synnott (NZL) 92.88 pts (84.51 + 28.15 + 92.88)
2. Julia Marino (USA) 87.68 (30.61 + 87.68 + 60.35)
3. Tess Coady (AUS) 84.15 (82.68+55.98+84.15)
4. Laurie Blouin (CAN) 81.41 (77.96 + 46.70 + 81.41)
5. Reira Iwabuchi (JPN) 80.03 (75.60+80.03+46.15)
6. Anna Gasser (AUT) 75.33 (35.01 + 43.58 + 75.33)
7. Enni Rukajarvi (FIN) 71.45 (30.51+71.45+23.43)
8. Annika Morgan (GER) 64.13 (64.13 + 31.01 + 28.76)
9. Jamie Anderson (USA) 60.78 (22.98 + 60.78 + 36.88)
10. Kokomo Murase (JPN) 49.05 (48.50 + 49.05 + 48.00)
11. Hailey Langland (USA) 48.35 (32.05 + 48.35 + 29.93)
12. Ariane Burri (SUI) 24.01 (21.40 + 24.01 + 18.86)
