2018 Winter Olympics: Freestyle Skiing Guide and Preview for PyeongChang
With the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea fast approaching, here’s everything you need to know about what might be the most aesthetically pleasin event of all: Freestyle skiing.
Freestyle skiing is not one specific event, but an umbrella term that encompasses five different ski terrain events on both the men's and women's side, for a total of ten. Those events are: aerials, halfpipe, moguls, ski cross and slopestyle.
In PyeongChang, Freestyle skiing kicks of with the men's and women's moguls qualifying on Feb. 8 and concludes with the women's ski cross on Feb. 23.
A full schedule of all ten events can be seen here.
In December, SI.com published a Rookie’s Guide to Freestyle Skiing with information about each specific event, including the rules, history, 2014 medal winners and current world champion. You'll learn about how each event is judged and which tricks you can expect to see. There is no better way to become the coolest person at your watch party than to accurately predict seeing a switch double-cork 900.
In the January 29-February 5 Olympic Preview issue of Sports Illustrated’s magazine, our expert Brian Cazeneuve gave his medal predictions. Here are his picks for Alpine skiing:
MEN
Aerials
- Anton Kushnir, Belarus
- Qi Guangpu, China
- Maxim
Defending champ Kushnir is in his fourth Olympics.
Halfpipe
- David Wise, U.S.
- Alex Ferreira, U.S.
- Simon D'Artois, Canada
A U.S. sweep is possible.
Moguls
- Mikael Kingsbury, Canada
- Dmitry Reiherd, Kazakhstan
- Ikuma Horishima, Japan
Horishima recently snapped Kingsbury's record of 13 straight World Cup wins.
Ski Cross
- Alex Fiva, Switzerland
- Marc Bischofberger, Switzerland
- Jean-Frederic Chapuis, France
Fiva was born in Newport Beach, Calif.
Slopestyle
- Oystein Braten, Norway
- Andri Ragettli, Switzerland
- Ferdinand Dahl, , Austria
The U.S. swept this event in Sochi and could return to the podium in Pyeongchang.
WOMEN
Aerials
- Xu Mengtao, China
- Hanna Huskova, Belarus
- Lydia Lassila, Australia
Watch for U.S. veteran Ashley Caldwell.
Halfpipe
- Cassie Sharpe, Canada
- Brita Sigourney, U.S.
- Marie Martinod, Fran
At 22, Martinod, now 33, quit skiing for six years to run a nightclub.
Moguls
- Jaelin Kauf, U.S.
- Britteny Cox, Australia
- Justine Deufour-Lapointe, Canada
Kauf's parents, Scott and Patty, were moguls world champions
Ski Cross
- Sandra Naslund, Sweden
- Fanny Smith, Switzerland
- Georgia Simmerling, Canada
Simmerling won a bronze medal in team pursuit cycling in Rio.
Slopestyle
- Johanne Killi, Norway
- Tiril Sjastad Christiansen, Norway
- Jennie-Lee Burmansson, Sweden
Maggie Voisin, then 15, broke an ankle in Sochi; she's now the U.S. hope
Check out the rest of Brian’s medal predictions for all 102 events in the magazine.
