Team USA's Alex Hall and Nick Goepper Win Gold and Silver in Freeski Slopestyle

Alex Hall earned Team USA's first U.S. gold medal in freeskiing this Olympic Games

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Published on February 16, 2022 11:05 AM

Alex Hall, Nick Goepper — Photo: Matthias Hangst/Getty Images; Matthias Hangst/Getty Images

Team USA locked in an impressive victory in the freeski slopestyle event at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, earning both the gold and silver medals in the event.

Freeskier Alex Hall won gold while his teammate Nick Goepper took silver in the Wednesday event, ESPN reports. Their combined win marks the best Team USA finish in the sport since the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.

Hall, 23, was given a final score of 90.01, while Goepper, 27, earned a score of 86.48, according to The Washington Post. Sweden's Jesper Tjader finished behind them to earn bronze.

Hall's win marked the first U.S. gold medal in freeskiing this Olympic Games, according to ESPN.

After competing Wednesday, Hall said the event "was the best slopestyle run I've ever done," explaining, "mainly because it embodied everything I love about skiing and how I approach skiing, and I didn't fade away from that to try and maybe get bigger scores," per ESPN.

He added, "I just kept it true to myself, and I think that's the most important part about our sport is just doing it for the love and doing it how you want to do it and not changing that."

Hall, who was born in Alaska and raised in Switzerland, began formal training in freeskiing when he was 16 after being tapped by the U.S. freeski team, who invited him to train in Utah, according to The New York Times.

While competing at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics, Hall finished 16th in slopestyle, per the Times.

Nicholas Goepper — Ian MacNicol/Getty Images

Goepper earned his third Olympic medal Wednesday after previously winning bronze in 2014 and silver in 2018, according to NBC.

His latest win comes after years of personal struggles, including grappling with depression.

"I wish I had a magic answer [to my longevity], but first of all, you've got to love it. And in times that you don't love it, you've got to know that you're eventually going to love it," Goepper said, per NBC.

He added, "Because that's how you keep putting the work in, but it's just continually grinding. We grind on the rails, but you've got to grind all the time."

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In an interview with PEOPLE ahead of the Games, Goepper said he was not too concerned about medaling, instead, "Just focusing on my sphere, just what's right in front of me."

"When you start to think about the big picture too much, it can pull you away from what's important," he said.

To learn more about Team USA, visit TeamUSA.org. Watch the Winter Olympics, now, and the Paralympics, beginning March 4, on NBC.