Persistent wind alters another Olympic event; women's slopestyle qualifying round canceled
High winds have created persistent problems for outdoor events in the opening days of the PyeongChang Games.
On Saturday, ski jumpers were forced to sit atop the ramp and wait, sometimes for several minutes, before getting the green light to start their descent.
On Sunday morning in Korea, officials postponed the men’s downhill skiing event until Thursday due to winds of up to 45 mph.
And now, we’ve seen our first cancellation, with high winds forcing officials to skip the qualifying round for the women’s slopestyle snowboarding competition.
The qualifying round was scheduled to take place after the conclusion of the men’s event, which saw 17-year-old Red Gerard secure gold for the first U.S. medal in PyeongChang.
After a 40-minute delay at the Phoenix Snow Park venue, officials decided to advance all of the competitors to Monday’s final round.
The qualifying round was supposed to narrow the field from 27 competitors to 12. Now, with all 27 athletes scheduled to compete in Monday’s final, there won’t be time for a full slate of runs.
Where competitors were scheduled to take three runs each in the final round with only their best score counting in the standings, now snowboarders will only have two runs each.
For athletes who don’t put up a good number with their first run, the pressure just got amplified for their second, and now final run.
Led by Sochi gold medalist Jamie Anderson, the U.S. team is a strong contender for the medal stand on Monday.
More Olympic coverage from Yahoo Sports:
• How the Olympics could unify Korea
• Dutch speedskating fans troll Donald Trump with message on flag
• Teenager Red Gerard wins first U.S. medal, taking gold in snowboarding slopestyle
• Earthquake hits roughly 100 miles from PyeongChang
• South Korea wins first gold in speed skating in unusual way
