Brita Sigourney books final berth for Team USA in Beijing 2022 freestyle skiing women's halfpipe

Team USA freestyle skiing women’s halfpipe competitor Brita Sigourney made a solid started her campaign to be the first USA woman to win two consecutive Winter Olympic medals in freestyle skiing.

The American qualified for the Beijing 2022 final in eighth place on Thursday (17th February in China, evening of Wednesday 16th in the US).

At her third Games, Sigourney was the best-placed American in qualifying and posted an 84.50 with her second run to be ranked just ahead of countrywoman Hanna Faulhaber in ninth and Carly Margulies in 10th.

Eileen Gu, of People’s Republic of China, set the benchmark and will be fancied to add a third medal in her three different freestyle skiing disciplines.

Gu scored 93.75 with her first run and 95.50 with her second in the women’s halfpipe qualifying on Thursday 17 February, after winning the big air gold medal and a silver medal in the slopestyle, earlier in the Games.

Canada’s Rachael Karker qualified in second and Kelly Sildaru, who became the first Estonian athlete to win an Olympic Games medal in freestyle skiing when she secured the slopestyle bronze at Beijing 2022, qualified in third.

The women’s halfpipe final will be held on Friday 18 February at 09:30 CST, at Genting Snow Park.

You can read more about the qualifying here.

Sigourney won a bronze medal in the women’s halfpipe at PyeongChang 2018 after finishing sixth at Sochi 2014.

In between PyeongChang 2018 and Beijing 2022, the Californian underwent surgery on her right tibia in 2019.

The 32-year-old is familiar with injury, however, having undergone no less than eight surgeries through her career.

A 2010 junior world champion, Sigourney leads a team of four USA athletes in the women’s halfpipe competition at Beijing 2022,