{jumi[david-wise-tweet.txt]}

American David Wise won the first Olympic gold medal ever for halfpipe skiing in Russia today with high-flying style in sloppy conditions.

The victory comes as little surprise, since Wise has been dominating the sport for several years now. But even with the wet, heavy snow slowing down competitors to a slog it was still good to see halfpipe skiing get some long overdue mainstream global respect.

Like most great freeskiers, Wise has a summer connection to Mount Hood, where he honed his skills at Windells camps.

Wise scored a 92 on his first run by managing to build up just enough speed to pull off his patented right-side double-cork 1260: three and a half spins with two flips.

Here is a video showing Wise in the pipe pulling two right-side double cork 1260s in a row in a previous competition, worth watching to get a sense of the complexity of the trick that has separated him from the competition.

{jumi[wise.youtube.txt]}

Last modified: February 18, 2014