We collect cookies to analyze our website traffic and performance; we never collect any personal data.Cookies Policy
Accept
Michigan Post
Search
  • Home
  • Trending
  • Michigan
  • World
  • Politics
  • Top Story
  • Business
    • Business
    • Economics
    • Real Estate
    • Startups
    • Autos
    • Crypto & Web 3
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
    • Lifestyle
    • Food
    • Beauty
    • Art & Books
  • Health
  • Sports
  • Entertainment
  • Education
Reading: Olympics Live Updates: U.S. Men’s Hockey Is Out After Loss to Slovakia
Share
Font ResizerAa
Michigan PostMichigan Post
Search
  • Home
  • Trending
  • Michigan
  • World
  • Politics
  • Top Story
  • Business
    • Business
    • Economics
    • Real Estate
    • Startups
    • Autos
    • Crypto & Web 3
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
    • Lifestyle
    • Food
    • Beauty
    • Art & Books
  • Health
  • Sports
  • Entertainment
  • Education
© 2024 | The Michigan Post | All Rights Reserved.
Michigan Post > Blog > Sports > Olympics Live Updates: U.S. Men’s Hockey Is Out After Loss to Slovakia
Sports

Olympics Live Updates: U.S. Men’s Hockey Is Out After Loss to Slovakia

By Editorial Board Published February 16, 2022 6 Min Read
Share
Olympics Live Updates: U.S. Men’s Hockey Is Out After Loss to Slovakia
16olympics briefing header 05 facebookJumbo
The American skiers Alex Hall, left, and Nick Goepper took gold and silver in slopestyle skiing on Wednesday.Credit…Dylan Martinez/Reuters

Alex Hall let out a whoop when he landed his last trick on the slopestyle course, and that was before the judges awarded him with what would be the winning score. It was, he said later, the best run of his life.

“Oh, I was stoked,” he said. “I couldn’t believe I just landed that.”

Hall was one of three Americans looking to crowd the medal stand at the men’s freestyle skiing slopestyle event, hoping that a European-centric field would not disrupt those plans.

Two of them did it: Hall won gold and Nick Goepper took silver on another sunny, below-zero day at Genting Snow Park. Jesper Tjader of Sweden won bronze.

In a competition where only a skier’s best score counted, Hall set the standard early with a 90.01 score on the first of three runs. Everyone else spent the frigid morning trying to match it, but no one did. Goepper came closest, on his second run, scoring 86.48.

“All right,” he said when the score popped up. “I’ll take it.”

Each of the Americans in the final arrived with high hopes and a stirring story. Goepper, 27, was looking to complete a full rainbow of medals, having won a bronze in 2014 and a silver in 2018. He has battled alcohol abuse and depression, opening up about his struggles after his 2018 performance in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

In an interview last month, Goepper said that he was glad that other Olympians seem increasingly willing to discuss their mental health.

Colby Stevenson, 24, was in a near-fatal car accident in 2016, late at night on a rural road in Idaho. He spent days in a coma, but recovered to return to the global circuit and win major events. At these Olympics, he won a silver medal in big air and was a contender for another medal in slopestyle.

Instead, he finished seventh, unable to cleanly land the run he imagined.

“Gave it everything I had,” he said after his last chance.

The day belonged to Hall. The 23-year-old was born in Alaska but grew up mostly in Switzerland, the son of professors at the University of Zurich. He did not have coaching until he was 16, when he was invited by the U.S. freeski team to train in Utah. For a time, he considered competing for Italy, where his mother is from.

That background, free from the constraints of coaching and youth competitions, imbibed him with a bit of a free spirit.

He was 16th in slopestyle at the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, just as his career was taking off. He won a World Cup event that year and the X Games in 2019. He was third at last year’s world championships.

He is tall, well over six feet, but stands out on the slopes mostly for his originality.

“You’ll see him doing a whole bunch of taps and nose butters and creative ways to utilize the course,” U.S. freeski coach Dave Euler said of Hall in December. “He’s a very creative course user.”

The Olympic contest was the final showing for the slopestyle course, a standout venue — but a temporary one, made of snow — designed to look like a section of the nearby Great Wall. Its combination of rails, obstacles and jumps created a plethora of possibilities, but vexed some of the world’s best snowboarders and freeskiers. Hall and Goepper loved it.

“As soon as you standardize this sport, you’re going to kill it,” Goepper said. “So if you can leave the creativity and the artistry up to us, that is going to keep this sport fresh.”

It is why Hall was deemed the worthiest of Olympic champions. He has won big contests with dizzying spins, a ceaseless spin-to-win trend in both freeskiing and snowboarding that worries purists.

But on Wednesday, Hall brought a bag of technical tricks, hoping the judges would reward him for originality rather than rotations.

His last jump was one that he had landed only a couple of times before, even though it is really only a 900-degree rotation — half of what many other tricks are these days. As Hall described it, he spun one way in the air, stopped and spun the other way before landing.

That led to the whoop.

“I’ve always told myself, if I’m not having fun doing it, then there’s really no reason to do it,” Hall said. “So I might as well do what brings me all this joy.”

His smile was concealed by a mask, a hallmark of an Olympics held during a pandemic. But his eyes lit up below his ice-frosted eyebrows. He wore an American flag over his shoulders, and soon, a gold medal around his neck.

— John Branch

TAGGED:The Washington Mail
Share This Article
Facebook Twitter Email Copy Link Print

HOT NEWS

Market Discuss – July 15, 2025 | Economics

Market Discuss – July 15, 2025 | Economics

Economics
July 15, 2025
Emmy nominations revealed – with Adolescence up for 13 awards

Emmy nominations revealed – with Adolescence up for 13 awards

The 2025 Emmy nominations have been revealed - with British crime drama Adolescence up for…

July 15, 2025
Chancellor Rachel Reeves contemplating ‘adjustments’ to ISAs – and says there’s an excessive amount of concentrate on ‘danger’ in investing

Chancellor Rachel Reeves contemplating ‘adjustments’ to ISAs – and says there’s an excessive amount of concentrate on ‘danger’ in investing

The chancellor has confirmed she is contemplating "changes" to ISAs - and mentioned there was…

July 15, 2025
18-year-old shot at home get together close to Charlotte

18-year-old shot at home get together close to Charlotte

LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) -- An 18-year-old from Charlotte was despatched to the hospital over the…

July 15, 2025
Lamine Yamal: Incapacity rights group threatens authorized motion after individuals with dwarfism reportedly employed for star’s celebration

Lamine Yamal: Incapacity rights group threatens authorized motion after individuals with dwarfism reportedly employed for star’s celebration

A Spanish incapacity group has threatened authorized motion after individuals with dwarfism have been reportedly…

July 15, 2025

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE

Amid resurgent 12 months and batting title push, Will Smith unbothered being ‘overlooked’

ATLANTA — The hierarchy of stars was apparent even within the desk preparations.At an All-Star Sport media day occasion on Monday on…

Sports
July 15, 2025

Commentary: 2026 FIFA World Cup gown rehearsal exposes the massive downside of utmost warmth

Six weeks in the past in Munich, Paris Saint-Germain overwhelmed considered one of Europe’s prime groups within the UEFA Champions…

Sports
July 15, 2025

Commentary: Stay from Atlanta: The subsequent entrance within the battle between MLB homeowners and gamers

ATLANTA — In 2021, Instances columnist Invoice Plaschke incurred the wrath of Atlanta by blaspheming the leisure district surrounding the Braves’ ballpark…

Sports
July 15, 2025

Bronny James generates pleasure, however Clippers prevail over Lakers in Summer season League

LAS VEGAS — Even with all of the sports activities dignitaries in attendance and regardless that they had been watching a rivalry…

Sports
July 15, 2025

Welcome to Michigan Post, an esteemed publication of the Enspirers News Group. As a beacon of excellence in journalism, Michigan Post is committed to delivering unfiltered and comprehensive news coverage on World News, Politics, Business, Tech, and beyond.

Company

  • About Us
  • Newsroom Policies & Standards
  • Diversity & Inclusion
  • Careers
  • Media & Community Relations
  • Accessibility Statement

Contact Us

  • Contact Us
  • Contact Customer Care
  • Advertise
  • Licensing & Syndication
  • Request a Correction
  • Contact the Newsroom
  • Send a News Tip
  • Report a Vulnerability

Term of Use

  • Digital Products Terms of Sale
  • Terms of Service
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Settings
  • Submissions & Discussion Policy
  • RSS Terms of Service
  • Ad Choices

© 2024 | The Michigan Post | All Rights Reserved

Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Lost your password?