freestyle skiing

U.S. Wins Gold in Inaugural Mixed Team Aerials Event at Winter Olympics

The United States finished ahead of China, Canada to come in first

The United States won the first ever Olympic gold medal in the mixed teams aerial event at the Winter Olympics.

The trio of Ashley Caldwell, Chris Lillis and Justin Schoenefeld scored a total of 338.34, beating out China for the gold. It's the first gold medal in aerial freestyle skiing for the U.S. since 1998.

The U.S. men’s curling team lost to Sweden 7-4 in their round-robin match, the first time the two countries have competed at the Olympics since the 2018 gold medal game.

Chris Lillis nailed a huge run in the finals for the U.S. after scoring the least of the three in the first run. He elected to go with the more difficult back double full full double full jump, but the risk paid off, notching a score of 135.00.

Caldwell registered an 88.86 with her back full full full jump and Schoenefeld rounded out the Americans' run with a score of 114.48 for his back double full full full.

The United States finished behind China in the first finals run, but between the sensational jump from Lillis and a deduction in points to China's Jia Zongyang for a front flip off his landing, it was enough to pull the U.S. ahead for gold.

China won silver with a score of 324.22 and Canada earned bronze with a score of 290.98.

Contact Us