Birk Irving lands in fifth at Olympic halfpipe final

Birk Irving, 26, of Winter Park finished in fifth place in the men’s freeski halfpipe finals at the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics.

Fellow Team USA member and Colorado skier Alex Ferreira took gold with a score of 93.75. In second place on the podium was Estonia’s Henry Sidlaru, who scored 93.00 points, followed by Canada’s Brendan Mackay in third place with a score of 91.00 points.

Despite not making the podium this year, Irving clinched his best Olympic score to date, with a score of 88.00 on his third and final run.

Irving’s first run was a slow start. The second-time Olympian scored 33.00 points, but after his second run, wherein he scored 87.50 points, he was momentarily in first place. After a strong final run, Irving awaited his score eagerly. Disappointment was evident in his expression as he received his last score, realizing he would not be making the podium.

At Winter Park Resort’s Sundog Restaurant, locals and visitors gathered to cheer on the Winter Park athlete, who spent his childhood in the resort’s early education center and training on its competition center team. Outcries erupted from the crowd when Irving got his final score, which some audience members said they found unjust.

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Resort employee Whitney Nylaan attended the watch party and had previously met the Irvings at Winter Park.

“It takes a certain athlete to be able to slow it down on the first run so as to not go in too hard,” Nylaan said. “His second run was great, and then he just kept getting better and better.”

While she was disappointed in the result, Nylann said she was impressed with Team USA’s performance overall.

“These athletes were really going for it,” she said. “When I just look down the halfpipe, I get scared, so I can’t imagine what must be going through their heads.”

Birk Irving’s Olympic run may have come to a close, but his sister, Svea, has yet to compete in the women’s freeski halfpipe finals. The women’s finals occur at 11:30 a.m. MST on Saturday, Feb. 21. Sundog Restaurant will host another watch party for the event.

This story is from SkyHiNews.com.