Shaun White qualified for both the halfpipe and slopestyle snowboarding finals at the third of five Olympic selection events in snowboarding and freeskiing in Breckenridge, Colo., this week.
White can clinch his spot on the U.S. Olympic Team in slopestyle if he is the top American finisher in the final Friday (full Olympic selection standings and some clinching scenarios below).
The notable Olympic hopefuls who failed to advance to finals were fellow halfpipe Olympic medalists Hannah Teter, Gretchen Bleiler and Scotty Lago.
In ski slopestyle, three of the four top U.S. women will not be in the final. That leaves Devin Logan, who is trying to make the Olympic Team in slopestyle and halfpipe, a great opportunity to clinch one Olympic berth.
Here’s the finals schedule (all times Eastern):
Friday -- Ski Slopestyle -- 11:30 a.m.-12:45 p.m. (NBC, Sunday, 1 p.m.)
Friday -- Snowboard Slopestyle -- 3-5 p.m. (NBCSN, Saturday, 4:30 p.m.)
Saturday -- Snowboard Halfpipe -- 2-3:30 p.m. (NBC, Sunday, 2 p.m.)
Sunday -- Ski Halfpipe -- 2-3:15 p.m. (NBCSN, Monday, 9 p.m.)
The U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association details how the Olympic Team selection process works in this snowboarding document and this freestyle skiing document.
Here’s the text for snowboarding:Up to three halfpipe athletes per gender who have had a top four result, against the entire competition field, in the selection events will be named to the Olympic team. If more than three athletes, in either gender, have had a top four result then ties will be broken. … Each athlete’s best two results will be combined to create a ranking list for nomination in each gender.
Up to three slopestyle men and two slopestyle women athletes who have had a top four result, against the entire competition field, in the selection events will be named to the Olympic team. If more than three men and two women athletes have had a top four result then ties will be broken. … Each athlete’s best two results will be combined to create a ranking list for nomination in each gender.
Here’s the text for freestyle skiing:
It’s expected most (if not all) disciplines will fall into tiebreaker ranking lists. Here’s where it gets tricky.
A nation can’t send more than 24 snowboarders to the Olympics across all disciplines — halfpipe, slopestyle, snowboardcross and parallel giant slalom and parallel slalom — even though it could qualify up to 32 Olympic snowboarding spots (four per gender per event).
As of Jan. 9, the U.S. had qualified 25 snowboarding quota spots — four men and women each in halfpipe and slopestyle, four men in snowboardcross, two women in snowboardcross, two men in parallel and one woman in parallel. If it stays that way, the U.S. will not be able to fill one of those spots.
A nation can’t send more than 26 freestyle skiers to the Olympics across all disciplines — aerials, moguls, skicross, ski halfpipe and ski slopestyle — even though it could qualify up to 40 Olympic freestyle skiing spots (four per gender per event).
As of Jan. 9, the U.S. had qualified 34 freestyle skiing quota spots — four men and women each in aerials, moguls, ski halfpipe and ski slopestyle, two men in skicross and zero women in skicross. If it stays that way, the U.S. will not be able to fill eight of those spots.
The Olympic selection tiebreaker rankings for halfpipe and slopestyle snowboarding and skiing are calculated the same as World Cup standings, on a points system that begins with:
First place — 1,000 points (for snowboarding, 100 for freeskiing)
Second — 800 (80 for freeskiing)
Third — 600 (60 for freeskiing)
Fourth — 500 (50 for freeskiing)
The tiebreaker rankings throw out results by international athletes (such as Australian Torah Bright, who won the Dew Tour women’s halfpipe).
That in mind, here are the Olympic selection event tiebreaker rankings for snowboard halfpipe, snowboard slopestyle, ski halfpipe and ski slopestyle (only counting snowboarders with top-four results and skiers with top-three results). Also, some scenarios where athletes could clinch Olympic berths this weekend courtesy of NBC Olympics Research.
Men’s Snowboard Halfpipe
1. Greg Bretz -- 1,800
2. Taylor Gold -- 1,600
3. Ben Ferguson -- 1,000 (did not qualify for Breckenridge final)
4. Louie Vito -- 900
5. Shaun White -- 800
If Bretz or Gold is the top American, he clinches an Olympic berth.
Women’s Snowboard Halfpipe
1. Kelly Clark -- 2,000 (clinched Olympic berth)
2. Arielle Gold -- 1,400
3. Gretchen Bleiler -- 1,000 (did not qualify for Breckenridge final)
Men’s Snowboard Slopestyle
1. Shaun White -- 1,320
If White is the top American, he clinches. If Chas Guldemond is the top American and finishes in the top four overall, he clinches.
Women’s Snowboard Slopestyle
1. Jamie Anderson -- 1,800
2. Ty Walker -- 1,500
If Anderson is the top American, she clinches. If Walker is the top American and finishes in the top four overall, she clinches.
Men’s Ski Halfpipe
1. Aaron Blunck -- 180 (has two top-three results, did not qualify for Breckenridge final)
2. David Wise -- 129
3. Gus Kenworthy -- 112
4. Lyman Currier -- 105
If Wise is the top American and finishes in the top three overall, he clinches.
Women’s Ski Halfpipe
1. Maddie Bowman -- 180 (has two top-three results)
2. Brita Sigourney -- 160 (has two top-three results)
3. Angeli VanLaanen -- 125
If Bowman or Sigourney is the top American, she clinches.
Men’s Ski Slopestyle
1. Nick Goepper -- 200 (clinched Olympic berth)
Nobody else can clinch this week.
Women’s Ski Slopestyle
1. Maggie Voisin -- 140 (did not compete in Breckenridge)
2. Devin Logan -- 136
2. Darian Stevens -- 136 (did not qualify for Breckenridge final)
4. Grete Eliassen -- 102 (did not qualify for Breckenridge final)
If Logan is the top American and finishes in the top three, she clinches.
