The wait was worth it
After more than ten years of trying, Alex Ferreira was finally able to swing his cane over his head. He did it knowing that he had given everything. On a frigid night in the Italian Alps, the American skier completed his collection.
Silver in Pyeongchang 2018. Bronze in Beijing 2022. And now, at 31 years old, the gold he longed for in the men’s halfpipe final.
“He said he needed to complete the rainbow. He had the silver, the bronze and he needed the gold,” Colleen Ferreira, his mother, told The Associated Press. “He was motivated. A year ago he said he was going to make it, and he made it.”
His third and final drop was masterful: 93.75 points that gave him victory over the young Estonian Henry Sildaru, who was only 0.75 points behind in his first Games.
The halfpipe returns home
With this victory, Ferreira returns halfpipe dominance to the American team. David Wise had won golds at Sochi 2014 and Pyeongchang 2018 before New Zealand’s Nico Porteous took the title four years ago.
It was an intense final until the last moment. Canadian Brendan Mackay displaced American Nick Goepper from the podium on the final descent, narrowly taking the bronze from him.
Goepper was seeking his fourth Olympic medal after switching to halfpipe for this cycle. On his last descent he gave a scare when he crashed against the platform, but fortunately he got up without apparent injuries.
The day was long for all the finalists. They had to compete in qualifying in the morning – postponed due to snow – and then return for the night final under the floodlights.
Meanwhile, Hunter Hess finished tenth after coming into the spotlight for his previous political statements. Reigning world champion Finley Melville Ives did not even reach the final after falling in qualification.
For Ferreira, however, this night was perfect. A decade of work culminating with that swing of the baton that meant: mission accomplished.
