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Redmond Gerard won the United States’ first gold medal at the PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games by taking victory in the men’s snowboarding slopestyle final.
Canadian Maxence Parrot took silver with his final run, tipping compatriot Mark McMorris – the leader after two completed rounds – into the bronze medal position.
Gerard, at 17 the youngest in the men’s competition, landed a perfect backside triple cork 1440 on his final run. Despite Parrot landing the same trick on the final run of the day, the judges favoured the American.
Every boarder had three runs on the course, with each athlete’s result calculated as the best score of the three as assessed by the nine judges.
Gerard left it all until the final run, having bailed out of his first two attempts, and entered the final round in 10th placing in the 11-man final.
It was a disappointing day for Norway, which had three riders in the competition. Sochi 2014 silver medallist Staale Sandbech was fourth, with teenage sensation Marcus Kleveland finishing sixth.
Ph © Olympics
Final Results:
1. Red Gerard
2. Max Parrot
3. Mark McMorris
4. Stale Sandbech
5. Carlos Garcia Knight
6. Marcus Kleveland
7. Tyler Nicholson
8. Torgeir Bergrem
9. Niklas Mattsson
10. Seppe Smits
11. Sebastien Toutant
12. Mons Roisland