Britain's Aimee Fuller crashes out in women's slopestyle as Jamie Anderson wins gold

Updated 12/02/2018 at 08:24 GMT

America's Jamie Anderson claimed another gold in the women's slopestyle while Britain's Aimee Fuller could not finish a clean run in PyeongChang.

Aimee Fuller of Great Britain crashes in the Snowboard Ladies' Slopestyle Final on day three of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games at Phoenix Snow Park

Image credit: Getty Images

Fuller, 26, missed a ramp jump on her first run before crashing on her second attempt while Anderson scored an impressive 83.00 to top the podium.

The competition itself was disrupted by delays with 25 riders participating in the final after qualifying was cancelled yesterday. The final was then delayed for over an hour due to high winds but eventually, the participants had to brave those tough conditions and only five of them completed a clean first run without falling.

Aimee Fuller of Great Britain crashes in the Snowboard Ladies' Slopestyle Final on day three of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games at Phoenix Snow Park

Image credit: Getty Images

PyeongChang

Aimee Fuller

30/10/2017 at 14:12

Watch every minute of PyeongChang 2018 on Eurosport Player

It could be the reason Fuller's two runs went badly. She mistimed a ramp jump, which forced her to go around it and she held her arms up as if to complain.

Her second attempt started well but she lost her balance in a big air attempt on the final straight to record a 41 score and finish in 17th place.

Aimee Fuller of Great Britain celebrates in the Snowboard Ladies' Slopestyle Final on day three of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games at Phoenix Snow Park

Image credit: Getty Images

"That was a tough day at the office, some of the roughest conditions I've ridden in. I was devastated on my second run. I got the speed right, but when I was in the air it felt like I had a sail boat under my board. There was not a chance I would land. I'm devastated," she told BBC Sport.

"On my first run, I landed the first jump strong and on the second I felt I had it. I'm a strong rider, but I felt a gust that was like riding into a wind tunnel. It was brutal.

"It's the Olympic final and everyone wanted to ride. It's not what I would have expected, or how I visualised four years of preparation would end up. If you were lucky with the wind, there were some calm windows, but it wasn't a true show of women's slopestyle, which is a shame for our sport. We still have big air, so we go hard next week."

Meanwhile, American snowboarder Anderson successfully defended her Olympic title from Sochi four years ago with a near flawless first run scoring 83.00.

Gold medallist Jamie Anderson of the U.S. holds the U.S. flag during the flower ceremony

Image credit: Reuters

“It is key having experience and learning to just deal with what it is,” the 27-year-old American told reporters when she was questioned on coping with the severe weather conditions

“A handful of the girls were just like ‘no, it is not safe’ – and it is not like what we are doing is safe anyhow – but after we ran our practice, nobody had any complaints," Anderson said.

"Nobody mentioned anything and we were able to ride pretty good.”

Several athletes said Anderson was the only one who wanted the final to run because she had one of the safest routines planned.

“I realised on the second jump I barely had any speed – it was one of the more wind-affected jumps – so I pulled out of the double 900 and kind of opened up and landed cab 540 and so I went as fast as I could into the bottom jump,” Anderson said.

Canada's Laurie Blouin took silver with 76.33 on her second run as she attempted to steal the win from Anderson with Finland's Enni Rukajarvi doing just enough for bronze with her 73.91 score.

Join 3M+ users on app

Stay up to date with the latest news, results and live sports

Download

Scan me