Austria's Gasser wins gold with stunning final run in snowboard big air, Canadians Baird, Blouin well back

Austria's Anna Gasser took her second consecutive gold medal in the women's snowboard big air on Tuesday in Beijing, with the help of an outstanding final run, scoring 95.50 to push her total score from 176.75 to 185.50.

New Zealand's Zoi Sadowski-Synnott grabbed silver with a score of 177.00, after failing to land her final run with a chance to best Gasser's score. Japan's Murase Kokomo secured bronze with a total score of 171.50.

Canada's Laurie Blouin missed out on a chance to earn her first medal of the Olympics with an eighth-place finish, after finishing fourth in the slopestyle earlier in the Games.

Blouin, of Quebec City, Que., took falls on her first and third runs, and putting down an 86.25 score on the second to give her a total score of 115.00 for the day.

"I was happy that I landed my second jump," Blouin said. "On the last jump, I had a little more pressure. Honestly, I can't tell what happened because I felt good in the air."

"It's OK," she said of her big air result. "It doesn't feel as bad as finishing fourth."

WATCH | Gasser dazzles on final run to win big air gold:

Fellow Canadian Jasmine Baird finished in seventh with a total score of 130.00, completing all three of her runs.

Despite the result, she was content with her opportunity to compete with hopes of improving in the future.

"These girls are showing everyone what women's snowboarding is all about and we're just seeing so much progression," Baird said. "It's really, really great to see. These girls aren't scared of anything, they're going to keep pushing and pushing and I'm hoping to keep progressing myself too.

"It's really, really sick to see. I'm so happy to be here and be a part of it, see it in person."

Now in her second Olympics, she exits without a medal for the first time. Blouin had won silver in the slopestyle at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games and finished 12th in the big air event. She had come into these Games having won gold in the big air at the 2021 world championships.

Baird, of Georgetown, Ont., finished scored a 68.75 on her first run and 48.75 on her second run to give her a total of 117.50, sitting in sixth place going into the final run. She scored 61.75 on her third run.

The 22-year-old finished 10th in the qualifying round in order to advance. She also finished 15th in the slopestyle event earlier in the Games. 

Coming into her Olympic debut, Baird had finished 18th in the big air and 22nd in the slopestyle events at the 2021 worlds.

WATCH | Replay: Women's snowboard big air final: