Winter Olympics: Kiwi trio miss the medals in men’s snowboard big air final

The bid to open New Zealand’s medal count at the Winter Olympics in Italy will have to wait a little longer.

With three athletes qualifying for the men’s snowboard big air final, the Kiwis accounted for a quarter of the 12-strong field.

Lyon Farrell, Rocco Jamieson and Dane Menzies all earned their spots in the main event, qualifying seventh, eighth and 11th respectively, but on the day it wasn’t to be for the Kiwis.

Menzies posted the best result of the three, finishing sixth with a 160.75 two-run total but, when speaking to Sky Sport after the fact, was noticeably disappointed.

That was because the 20-year-old was on track to improve his two-run total in his final attempt, before a wobbly landing saw him lose his footing after he looked set to land his biggest trick of the final.

As things shaped out, he would have needed to score an 87.25 or better with his final run to beat what was the eventual bronze medal-winning total of 168.50, but it was evident Menzies felt he left a great score out there.

“I’m super stoked, but pretty bummed at the same time just to not land that last one. But stoked with my riding and only up from here so I’m happy,” he told Sky Sport.

Japan’s Kira Kimura won the gold medal with 179.50 and posted the two top individual scores of the final, ahead of fellow Japanese rider Ryoma Kitama with 171.50 and China’s Yiming Su with 168.50.

For Farrell and Jamieson, it wasn’t their night on the snow. Both riders were only able to complete one of their three attempts as they came unstuck on their landings in the other two.

Farrell finished the competition in eighth place with a 124.25 two-run total, while Jamieson was a spot further back with a 112.25 total.

“I’m just super grateful. I’m really stoked to be here, getting to represent my country and just the place that’s given me so much and taught me how to snowboard. I’m just really grateful for this moment,” Farrell told Sky Sport.

“At the end of the day it’s a competition, it doesn’t always go exactly the way you want. There was curveballs thrown at me today that I didn’t expect. My binding busted open, a very weird piece snapped off in the middle of practice and I had to go get it all dialled in and missed some runs, but I felt good the entire time and felt like I could do it.

“It’s crazy. Like, 99% of the trick is done in the air and it’s the landing that can just get you. If you have a little bit too much pressure on one side of your body or the other or on your board it can just spin you out of you can come up short. It’s just the way it goes.”

The trio will be back in action later in the competition, with the slopestyle event scheduled for the second week of the Games.

Earlier on Sunday, Ben Barclay and Luca Harrington qualified seventh and ninth respectively for the final in the men’s freeski slopestyle event, while Luca Ball finished 20th in qualifying in the event. That final will be in the early hours on Wednesday morning, around 12.30am NZT.

In the women’s freeski slopestyle qualification runs, Kiwi duo Ruby Star Andrews and Sylvia Trotter finished 17th and 20th, missing out on the final.

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Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.