Freestyle-Reigning gold medallist Hall advances to slopestyle final

LIVIGNO, Italy, Feb 7 : Olympic medallists Alex Hall of the United States and Jesper Tjader of Sweden made it through the freeskiing slopestyle qualifying round at the Milano Cortina Winter Games on Saturday to set up a showdown in next week's final in the Italian Alps.

Hall, the defending champion, was one of three Americans to make the field of 12 who will compete for medals in the mountain town of Livigno, near the Swiss border. His teammates Mac Forehand and Konnor Ralph also advanced.

Norway's Birk Ruud kicked off the competition with a flawless run and finished in first place on Saturday.

Tjader, the bronze medallist at the 2022 Games in Beijing, tumbled off a rail in his initial run, putting him in danger of elimination. A strong second run vaulted him to third place.

The slopestyle event features skiers who slide across rails and perform aerial tricks to impress the judges with difficulty and originality. The best score from each of the two runs determines the rankings.