Men's Freestyle Skiing Results Olympics 2022: Aerials Medal Winners
February 16, 2022
China's Qi Guangpu took 2022 Winter Olympic gold in the freestyle skiing men's aerials event at Genting Snow Park near Beijing on Wednesday.
Olympics @OlympicsPerfect execution! 👏⛷<br><br>Qi Guangpu (People's Republic of China) wins the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FreestyleSkiing?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FreestyleSkiing</a> - men's aerials <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Gold?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Gold</a> medal!<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Beijing2022?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Beijing2022</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/StrongerTogether?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#StrongerTogether</a> <a href="https://t.co/ty302uGNKT">pic.twitter.com/ty302uGNKT</a>
It took a score of 129.00 for Qi to top the podium, putting him ahead of Ukraine's Oleksandr Abramenko and the the Russian Olympic Committee's Ilya Burov, who respectively won silver and bronze.
Here is a full rundown of the final results, courtesy of NBCOlympics.com:
1. Qi Guangpu (China): 129.00
2. Oleksandr Abramenko (Ukraine): 116.50
3. Ilya Burov (ROC): 114.93
4. Pirmin Werner (Switzerland): 111.50
5. Justin Schoenefeld (USA): 106.50
6. Chris Lillis (USA): 103.00
Qi's win gave China a medalist in men's aerials for the fifth consecutive Olympics, and he also became the second Chinese man to win gold in the event, joining 2006 gold medalist Han Xiaopeng.
Qi also joined countrywoman Xu Mengtao in winning gold in the event in Beijing, as she was victorious in the women's aerials event earlier in the Games.
After being fourth among the six competitors who qualified for the final, Qi stepped up in a final that allowed each aerialist to attempt only one jump.
Qi chose a jump with a high degree of difficulty, landing it and winning gold by a fairly substantial margin.
Getty Images Sport @GettySportRight in front of the home crowd!<br><br>Qi Guangpu tops the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FreestyleSkiing?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FreestyleSkiing</a> Men's Aerials final with a score of 129.00 and takes home the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/gold?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#gold</a> for <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TeamChina?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TeamChina</a> 🇨🇳<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Beijing2022?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Beijing2022</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Olympics?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Olympics</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/StrongerTogether?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#StrongerTogether</a> <br><br>📸: <a href="https://twitter.com/patricksmith04?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@patricksmith04</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/cjspencois?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@cjspencois</a> <a href="https://t.co/YmxnouMGPI">pic.twitter.com/YmxnouMGPI</a>
The United States was the only team with two representatives, but neither Justin Schoenefeld nor Chris Lillis hit their jumps cleanly, resulting in them having to settle for fifth and sixth place, respectively.
A huge group of supporters gathered in the early-morning hours Wednesday in Lillis' hometown of Rochester, New York, to see if he could win yet another Olympic medal:
While it didn't happen for Lillis or Schoenefeld, they will still return to the United States as big-time winners.
Lillis and Schoenefeld, along with women's aerialist Ashley Caldwell, took gold in the inaugural aerials team event earlier in the Olympics.
They defeated a Chinese team led by Qi, but it was Qi who got the last laugh with an individual gold of his own in men's aerials.