Park City native Nick Page managed to crack the top five in his Olympic debut on Saturday, finishing fifth in the men’s moguls competition at the Genting Snow Park.
Page’s final run score of 78.90 was just over four points shy of Swedish skier Walter Wallberg’s gold medal score of 83.23. Canada’s Mikael Kingsbury took silver and Japan’s Ikura Horishima bronze.
The moguls competition consists of two qualification rounds and three final rounds, with fewer and fewer athletes moving on as the rounds progress.
Page was placed 6th heading into the medal round and said his final run was one he was really happy with – executing his landings and skiing well through the course’s difficult middle section.
Page said although he’d hoped to walk away from his first Olympic competition with a medal, he said he’s still proud of everything he’s accomplished.
“I’m gonna sound arrogant, but I came here with the intention of winning a medal, and a gold one at that,” said Page “But you can’t base [your results] off all that in the end, because all the things I just did, I’m really proud of. So I’m walking out of here on cloud nine.”
Page’s close friend and fellow Parkite Cole McDonald finished 14th in his Olympic mogul debut. He said he already has his sights set on the next Olympics in 2026.
Park City’s Rosie Brennan finished a strong 14th in the women’s 15k cross-country skiathlon on the opening day of competition. The skiathlon is an event that combines the two cross-country styles of classic and skate into one race.
Racers battled strong winds and a below-zero wind chill for an especially challenging competition that was ultimately won by Norway’s Therese Johaug by over 30 seconds. Russia’s Natalia Nepryaeva finished with the silver medal and Austria’s Teresa Stadlober took bronze.
Brennan finished two minutes and 51 seconds off the pace and said although her race on Saturday was not her best, she took a step in the right direction and was proud of her performance.
You can follow all of Park City’s Olympians here.
