[ad_1]
Jamie Anderson’s quest for a third straight Olympic slopestyle gold medal will continue Sunday in Beijing.
But the road to get there has been more challenging this time around for the decorated American snowboarder.
“It’s definitely a more complicated Olympics. Going to the Olympics is very stressful and you have so much on your plate,” Anderson said at a press conference before the women’s qualifying round on Saturday, per USA Today. “And this year it has been an absolute nightmare. Just everything from getting here, I think all of us in the last few months – I was really struggling with everything it took to get here.
“Now that we’re here and settled in to our apartment and figuring out our food, and our schedule, we’re all pretty stoked.”
The 31-year-old Anderson, who reportedly debated whether or not to come to the games because of the pandemic and human rights issues in China, put those concerns aside on Saturday and qualified for the finals with the fifth-best score of 74.35.
Anderson is one of three American women advancing to the finals after qualifying in difficult conditions – minus-five degrees Farenheit with wind gusts making it feel even colder, according to USA Today.
“The coldness makes it harder. It zaps the energy right out of you,” Anderson told reporters after the qualifying round. “The man-made snow is pretty good, I’m impressed that they were able to do it, but damn it’s not that enjoyable to ride on. … It’s cold, it’s hard to keep your core temperature up, and then doing tricks feels more intimidating.”
Joining Anderson in the slopestyle finals will be 21-year-old Hailey Langland, who qualified in ninth with a score of 68.71 and 24-year-old Julia Marino, who finished sixth with a score of 71.78.
“I was kind of flip-flopping between making my run not as hard … maybe not doing specific rail tricks,” Langland told reporters. “But I think everything happens for a reason. The conditions were pretty gnarly, so I’m happy to be walking away in one piece.”
[ad_2]