Canadian teenager Liam Gill falters in men's snowboard halfpipe qualifying
18–year-old from Calgary finishes 23 out of 25 riders, fails to advance to final
Canada's Liam Gill didn't make the cut for the final in the Olympic men's snowboard halfpipe event after finishing well outside of the top 12 in qualifying on Wednesday afternoon in Beijing.
Gill, an 18-year-old from Calgary, marked his Olympic debut with a poor first run in the qualifiers, posting a score of 16.75, which put him 22nd out of 25 competitors at Genting Snow Park.
He didn't do any better in his second run with a score of 15.50 to finish 23rd overall.
Gill was the lone Canadian competing in the men's halfpipe event, and is the only Indigenous member of Canada's snowboard team.
He was announced as a late replacement for veteran Derek Livingston after the two-time Olympian suffered an injury during a training run.
"It was an amazing experience. I fell on both runs, but I'm so happy to be here in the first place, and to take this all in and let it sink in. Hopefully in four years in Italy [at the 2026 Olympics] I can come back stronger," Gill said.
Bestie’s little bro Liam Gill is competing tonight at 11:30 in snowboarding halfpipe - we are cheering him on from home!!!! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Olympics2022?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Olympics2022</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Snowboard?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Snowboard</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TeamCanada?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TeamCanada</a> <a href="https://t.co/i6cH1f2vZB">pic.twitter.com/i6cH1f2vZB</a>
—@ryanbrownOSJapan's Ayumu Hirano finished in first with a score of 93.25 on his second run.
Shaun White of the United States, a three-time gold medallist and reigning Olympic champion, advanced with a score of 86.25 on his second run and a fourth-place finish. White is competing at his fifth Olympics in his final competition before retiring.
The men's halfpipe final is scheduled for Thursday at 8:30 p.m. ET.
Earlier on Wednesday, Canada's Elizabeth Hosking and Brooke D'Hondt advanced to the final in the women's snowboard halfpipe event after finishing in the top 12 in qualifying.
