Olympics-Freestyle skiing-Freeski slopestyle qualifiers postponed to Monday due to snow

February 13, 2022

ZHANGJIAKOU, China (Reuters) -The women’s freeski slopestyle qualifiers at the Beijing Games were postponed to Monday due to weather conditions, organisers said, as heavy snow led to poor visibility.

The qualifying session will be rescheduled to 10 a.m. local time (0200 GMT) on Monday, according to an online notice.

Steady snow had been falling on the course and organisers had earlier delayed the event by two hours on Sunday.

A total of 27 skiers were scheduled to participate in the qualifiers on Sunday, including home favourite Eileen Gu, who picked up the Big Air gold medal on Tuesday.

Italian skier Elisa Maria Nakab crashed during a practice run on the course earlier on Sunday and could be seen bleeding from the mouth.

Air temperatures dropped to -15 degrees Celsius (5°F) at the Genting Snow Park in Zhangjiakou as steady snow fell on the course.

(Reporting by Winni Zhou and Mari SaitoEditing by Peter Rutherford)