22 october
2021
To
21:21
Ruud on the podium at the opening of the World Cup
Free skier Birk Ruud fought back strongly after a last failed attempt and finished third in Friday’s big air competition at the World Cup premiere in Switzerland.
The 21-year-old from Bærum came out twisted in the final in Chur. There he missed and got just 28.00 points, but on the second and final attempt Ruud showed completely different beats.
A solid run gave him a score of 97.25. He held the lead, but Ruud saw Canadian Teal Harle (98.00) and Austrian Matej Svancer (99.00) pass.
– It’s incredibly nice to start the World Cup season with a podium. It was a fantastic event with thousands of spectators, and I made the most of the circumstances. I have to say I’m very happy, said Ruud after the race.
In fact, qualifying should have been canceled during the day, but the last round was delayed by several hours due to strong wind conditions. Ruud was the best in the first set with a score of 97.00.
Tess Ledeux from France took the big air victory for women. She clocked 95.25 as the best record and won ahead of Sarah Höfflin (Switzerland) and Elena Gaskell (Canada).
Sandra Eie was Norway’s representative in the final. She finished in fifth place with 84.75 as the best result. Like Ruud, Eie failed on the first try.
Earlier today, Johanne Killi failed to advance from qualifying. It was the return of Dombås’ daughter after a knee injury.
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