U.S. snowboarder Jamie Anderson became the first ever women's slopestyle Olympic champion on Sunday, a new category added to the Winter Games in Sochi this year.
This may have been the first Olympic gold for the 23-year-old of South Lake Tahoe, Calif., but it marks a sweep for Team USA. On Saturday, 20-year-old Sage Kotsenburg from Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, won gold in the same category for men. Anderson's win brings the U.S. medal count up to three.
Olympic snowboarder and gold medalist Shaun White was scheduled to compete in the men's slopestyle competition, but he withdrew last week following a wrist injury, citing potential risk of injury.
Slopestyle is a new competition category in which snowboarders perform tricks, flips and revolutions while traveling down slopes with quarter pipes and increasingly higher, more difficult jumps. The category has long been featured during the Winter X games, but it made its Olympics debut in Russia this year.
Only with the love and support from the most amazing family, friends, community and sponsors! So much gratitude. pic.twitter.com/v4QSITCFhq— Jamie Anderson (@Jme_Anderson) February 9, 2014
Sage won a silver medal at the 2012 Winter X games in snowboard slopestyle, while Anderson won gold at the Winter X games in 2007, 2008, 2012 and 2013.
Although Anderson was in fifth place going into the finals, Anderson earned a score of 95.25, which placed her ahead of Finland's Enni Rukajarvi (silver) and Britain's Jenny Jones (bronze).
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