PYEONGCHANG, SOUTH KOREA – Montana’s slopestyle stars took their best shots in the Winter Olympics on Friday. Both came up short in their quest for a medal, but one came close to the podium.
Maggie Voisin of Whitefish finished in fourth place in women’s slopestyle skiing, dropping out of bronze medal position on the fourth-to-last competitor. Missoula’s Darian Stevens ended up in 17th place, missing out on the finals.
Voisin took a while to show the form that won her X Games gold just a couple weeks ago. The 19-year-old barely advanced to the finals, scoring 72.8 and 73.0 points on her two qualifying runs. The 23 skiers each took two attempts to post their best possible scores, and the top 12 advanced to the finals. Voisin sat in 12th place during the final runs of the last seven contestants, but none moved past the Montanan, giving Voisin the last spot the finals.
Voisin couldn’t land her final jump on her first two attempts in finals, but on her third and final trip down the hill, the pride of Whitefish stuck a run worth 81.2 points. That pushed Voisin into bronze medal position. She stayed their for the next seven skiers.
But with only four ladies left, Great Britain’s Isabel Atkin knocked Voisin off the podium with a 84.6-point run. Voisin settled for a fourth-place finish.
Stevens wrecked early on her first qualifying run, putting pressure on her second attempt. The 21-year-old from Missoula did score 64.0 on her final chance, but ended up in 17th place.
Sarah Hoefflin of Switzerland won the gold medal, scoring 91.2 points on her final run. Her last breathtaking trip down the hill moved her ahead of fellow Swiss skier Mathilde Gremaud, who claimed the silver medal.
