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Ruud flies the flag for Norway with Big Air Olympic gold
Ruud flies the flag for Norway with Big Air Olympic gold
Birk Ruud led from the start to win Beijing Olympic gold in the men's freeski Big Air final on Wednesday -- even carrying a Norwegian flag in his hand for his third jump.
The day after Eileen Gu needed a stunning final leap to land gold for China in the women's event, Ruud dominated the men's field from the opening round.
The 21-year-old landed a stunning opening leap of five and a half rotations in the air for a near-perfect score of 95.75 points.
He had built up such a commanding lead that he had his country's flag with him for his third jump on his way to securing gold.
Burk, who also won the Olympic test event in 2019 and was the top-ranked qualifier on Monday, finished with a winning tally of 187.75.
Colby Stevenson of the USA took silver at 183 points behind with bronze going to Henrik Harlaut of Sweden, who scored 181.
L. Pchartschoy--BTZ
