Hall, Goepper Go One-Two In Slopestyle Final

Alex Hall and Nick Goepper ended their Olympic run with a bang, going one, two in the men's slopestyle final. 

Hall threw down his gold medal run right out of the gate, scoring a 90.01 that went untouched by the competition throughout the remainder of the event. 

Hall's gold in Olympic slopestyle adds up. Not only does he compete in big air and slopestyle events around the world, but he's also an avid street skier, and loves messing around in the backcountry with his friends. His capacity to bring a creative perspective to every course he touches helps push his skiing to new heights, and on Wednesday, earned him a gold medal.

"You ski whatever is in front of you, and you've got to visualize how you might be able to ski on something that's completely random," he said. "Being able to translate that into a slopestyle course allows me, especially on the rails but also for the jumps, to think outside the box and bring some of that in there. That's why I love skiing, because of the creativity and self-expression. If I only competed, I would have a lot less fun."

Hall competed in his first Games in Pyeongchang but finished 16th. He still remembers the moment when he watched his teammate, slopestyle silver-medalist, Nick Goepper stand on the podium at the Sochi Games in 2014 with a bronze medal around his neck. At the time, Hall was just 16. That was the time when he felt like freestyle skiing for his age group really kicked off. 

"I think that inspired a new, young generation and the Olympics is obviously really special. It only happens every four years, which amplifies the whole experience," he said.  

Goepper has been going for gold at the Olympic games since he was 20, having collected a silver and bronze in his previous two. Wednesday, gold evaded him, but his pride in his skiing still shone through. This comp just felt different than the rest.

"I feel like...I feel like I deserve this," Goepper said. "Alex said it best. He was excited to win, but he won in his way. On the second jump, he did this crazy butter trick that is very unique to Alex's style. I think getting up on the house and doing the things that I did are unique to my style and the way that I like to ski. So sometimes, these contests are just business as usual and you just gonna slough together a run, but this...this felt good, to do it how we wanted to.

Colby Stevenson also had a shot to follow up his big air silver with a medal in slopestyle, but came up short and finished in seventh. "I had fun trying it, and I'm really proud that I stuck with the vision I had."

RESULTS
Men's slopestyle final