Team USA Secures Freestyle Skiing Medal - But Was it The Gold?

Team USA freestyle skiier Alex Hall won a silver medal at the slopestyle skiing finals in the Winter Olympics on Tuesday morning.

The athlete was looking to defend the gold medal that he won at the previous ceremony in Beijing in 2022, but ultimately stumbled at the final hurdle when he fell at the first rail of his final run.

Norway's Birk Ruud took home the gold, while New Zealand's Luca Harrington came in third place.

Norway's victor was steadily ahead of Hall throughout the competition, turning in a top performance of 86.28 points. Hall's highest was marginally lower at 85.75 points.

Alex Hall Didn't Feel Pressured To Repeat His Victory

Speaking after Saturday's qualifier, Hall admitted: "I've never thought it was, like, 'I got to defend the gold medal,’ [...] I got one. No one's taking that one from me. I don't gotta defend nothing, like, you know what I mean?" (via USA Today)

The American star won gold in Beijing in spectacular fashion, qualifying in fifth place before turning in a show-stopping run of 90.01 points to land the gold medal. His countryman Nick Goepper came second with a score of 86.48, while Sweden's Jesper Tjäder secured the bronze medal.

Hall will also be competing in the big air competition, which starts on February 15.