The Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics kicked off on February 4, 2022, with heated competition unfolding every day. Halfpipe is one of the most technical freestyle skiing events. Securing a training environment that meets international competition standards can be difficult. Here, we'll introduce the key points of freeskiing halfpipe, where the series of incredible tricks is impressive. Be sure to learn the basics before enjoying the world's best pipe tricks!
Free Ski Half Pipe ｜Free Ski Half Pipe
A discipline that has produced Japanese medalists in the past.
Keep an eye on the ever-evolving complex tricks.
Beijing Olympics Freeski Halfpipe Competition Schedule
The freeski halfpipe is scheduled for the final stage of the competition. Due to television broadcasting in the US, both the qualifying and finals will start in the morning, making it a "midday showdown." The men's final will be on Saturday afternoon, so it should be easy to watch. (The schedule is subject to change due to weather and other factors.)
| Date and time | venue | Broadcast schedule | |
| February 17th (Thursday) 9:30-11:10 (10:30-12:10 Japan time) | Women's Freestyle Halfpipe Qualifying Runs 1-2 | Yunding Snow Park | Thursday, February 17th, 10:15am (NHK General TV) gorin.jp is here |
| February 17th (Thursday) 12:30-14:10 (13:30-15:10 Japan time) | Men's Freestyle Halfpipe Qualifying Runs 1-2 | Yunding Snow Park | Thursday, February 17th, 13:35~ (NHK General TV) gorin.jp is here |
| February 18th (Fri) 9:30-10:49 (10:30-11:49 Japan time) | Women's Freestyle Halfpipe Finals 1-3 | Yunding Snow Park | February 18th (Friday) 10:15~ Live broadcast (NHK General TV) gorin.jp is here |
| February 19th (Sat) 9:30-10:49 (10:30-11:49 Japan time) | Men's Freestyle Halfpipe Finals 1-3 | Yunding Snow Park | Live broadcast on NHK General TV from 10:05 on Saturday, February 19th. Click here |
Highlights of the Beijing Olympics Free Ski Halfpipe
Freeskiing halfpipe became an official event at the 2014 Sochi Olympics, where Japan's Ayana Onozuka won a bronze medal
Currently, the top men's skaters, including Nico Porteous (New Zealand) and Alex Ferreira (USA), have perfected double cork 1620s in both directions. A 1620 is essentially a quadruple-and-a-half rotation. To aim for the gold medal, skaters will need to land a 1620 or 1440 (quadruple) with a switch or reverse rotation. However, some skaters are performing tricks with fewer rotations, aiming for greater originality, and are receiving high praise from the judges. More rotations is not necessarily better. With two-time consecutive gold medalist David Wise (USA) still in good form, there are currently no clear favorites for the gold medal, making it difficult to predict the outcome
In the women's competition, Eileen Gu (China) is the heavy favorite. She is 18 years old and has an American father and a Chinese mother. She is a "three-sword" athlete who not only competes in halfpipe, but also in freeski slopestyle and freeski big air, and is a gold medal contender in each. She is particularly outstanding in halfpipe, winning all four of her World Cup races this season. If she can win the triple crown, she could become the star of the entire Beijing Olympics
Saori Suzuki is the only Japanese skater to qualify, following her participation in the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics. Last time, she was unable to skate as well as she would have liked. In Beijing, she is eager to erase that disappointment. At the World Cup USA just before Beijing, she improved her form to a personal best of 6th place. We can look forward to seeing her continue her momentum
▼Video of the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics freeskiing halfpipe
Beijing Olympics Freeski Halfpipe Competition Format
In the "Individual" category, the competition will proceed as follows from the preliminaries to the finals
- <Qualification> All skaters will skate twice, and the highest score will be used to determine the ranking. The top 12 skaters will advance to the finals
- <Finals> All skaters will skate three times, and the highest score will be used to determine the final ranking
In the preliminaries, the order of skating is decided by lottery. The key point is that the higher score is used rather than the total score of two runs, so even if you fail on the first run, you have another chance. However, athletes who get a high score on their first run are guaranteed a chance of advancing to the final even if they fail on their second run, so they can feel more at ease mentally.
There are three chances in the final (two in the World Cup). For this reason, athletes aiming for a medal often attempt risky tricks. Furthermore, since athletes skate in order from the bottom of the preliminaries in the final, athletes who rank high in the preliminaries can assess the overall developments, which gives them an advantage.
A major feature of this event is that it is judged not only on the difficulty and perfection of the tricks, but also on originality and forward movement. On the other hand, since the link between tricks is important, not just the movements in the air, it is also necessary to accurately grip the snow surface with the board as you glide
*The match format and ranking format may change depending on the weather on the day
Beijing Olympics Freeski Halfpipe Venue
Yunding Snow Park
The half-pipe course is complete!
The half-pipe course seems to be ready. As you can see, it's dazzlingly beautiful. The conditions are perfect! The qualifying and final rounds are scheduled to be broadcast on television, so be sure to come and enjoy the world's best tricks on this stage
Japan's representative for the Beijing Olympics freeskiing halfpipe 
[Women]
| name | Official BlogBlog | date of birth | Birthplace | Affiliation | Number of Olympic appearances |
| Saori Suzuki | http://johoku.sub.jp/wphp/category/saori-suzuki/ | January 9, 1990 | Nagai City, Yamagata Prefecture | Johoku Shinkin Bank Ski Club | 1 (Pyeongchang) |
Three athletes, including Sochi Olympic bronze medalists Ayana Onozuka and Saori Suzuki, competed in the last Pyeongchang Olympics, but this time only Suzuki has secured a ticket to Beijing. Suzuki's best result in the World Cup this season was sixth place, a great result. In Beijing, if he can continue to pursue height and land the 720 and 900 without any mistakes, he will be able to achieve a high ranking. However, the gap between the Japanese men's team and the world's top group is currently large, and no athletes have qualified for the Olympics
Text/Daisuke Mizorogi
Edit/STEEP
