Jamie Anderson Wins Gold Medal for Snowboarding Slopestyle at Olympics 2018

It's the United States and the rest of the world when it comes to the snowboarding slopestyle competition at the 2018 Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

Jamie Anderson captured the women's event, which aired live Sunday evening in the United States, with a gold-medal score of 83.00. She proved triumphant after 17-year-old Red Gerard won gold for the Americans in the men's slopestyle.

Anderson defended her gold from the 2014 Sochi Games and was followed by silver-medalist Laurie Blouin (76.33) from Canada and bronze-medalist Enni Rukajarvi (75.38) of Finland.

According to Paul Carr of ESPN Stats and Info, Anderson became the first woman to win two Olympic gold medals in snowboarding.

While Anderson prevailing was a familiar sight, the competition took on an unusual feel since the entire field that was set for qualifying battled in a two-run final. The qualifying heats were canceled because of poor weather, so the 25-women field advanced to a gold-medal showdown.

The majority of the runs were defined by falls and slips, as the snowboarders dealt with strong gusts of winds and an element of unfamiliarity with the competitive qualifying runs eliminated. It wasn't just the long shots struggling, either, as Rukajarvi—who won the silver in the 2014 Sochi Games—was in just 10th place after her first run before rescuing herself with a formidable second run.

Dan Wolken and Rachel Axon of USA Today underscored just what the competitors were facing on top of the nerves of Olympic competition:

Anderson fought through it, though, taking the lead through the first runs with what proved to be the eventual victory score of 83.00 thanks in large part to her ability to improvise in the air against the wind. She wasn't the only American who thrived early, as Jessika Jenson was in third with a 72.26, behind only Anderson and Norway's Silje Norendal (73.91).

Many riders delayed the start of their second runs on the top of the hill, waiting to time it between the gusts of wind.

Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports described the dire scene (NSFW): "Some female snowboarders are livid that the slopestyle contest is being run today. 'It's a s--tshow,' said Dutch rider Cheryl Maas. Nearly all of the women in the field have crashed on account of the exceedingly windy conditions."

Neither Jenson nor Norendal was able to complete a clean second run despite the fact each had a strong showing in the first.

As Will Graves of the Associated Press illustrated, they weren't the only ones:

It wasn't all disastrous, however, as Blouin and Rukajarvi dazzled in their second showings and knocked Jenson and Norendal from the podium.

The United States' Julia Marino was a threat to all three medalists, but she fell on her second run as well. That set up a victory lap for Anderson, one which she gladly accepted despite the need to hold back emotions on top of the hill.

While she didn't land a clean run to finish, she was good enough for gold for the second straight Olympics.