Australian dual Winter Olympian Valentino Guseli has made the most of a late-minute call-up for the Men’s Snowboard Big Air at the Milano Cortina Olympic Winter Games.
Guseli, who had not originally qualified, gained a spot after Canadian snowboarder Mark McMorris was a late withdrawal due to an injury.
Guseli’s entry into the Snowboard Big Air was made possible having already qualified in the Men's Snowboard Halfpipe, as well as recorded FIS points and delivered a Snowboard Big Air top 30 performance on the World Cup circuit.
The entry into the Snowboard Big Air doesn’t grant him automatic entry into the Men’s Snowboard Slopestyle, with McMorris still eligible to compete.
With 12 positions on the line for the final, Guseli scraped in at number 12 and will now compete in the final at 5.30am Sunday, February 8, Australian time.
With the best two scores from the three runs counting, Guseli scored 73.25, 71.50 and 91.50 for a total of 163 from his best two. His 91.50 was the equal second-best scoring run of the qualifying, giving an indication he is right in the mix with the best of them.
The leading qualifier was Hiroto Ogiwara from Japan with a score of 178.50.
Three New Zealand athletes have also made the final, Lyon Farrell qualifying in 7th, Rocco Jamieson in 8th, and Dane Menzies in 11th position.
The full results can be found here.
Guseli is also a medal contender in the men's snowboard halfpipe.
