American Sage Kotsenburg won the first gold of the 2014 Winter Olympics on Saturday in men’s slopestyle snowboarding.
Kotsenburg was not heavily expected to win but did so by pulling off a move he had not practiced titled “Back 16 Japan.”
“I ended up landing it, and winning with it,” Kotsenburg said, laughing. The trick is four and a half backwards spins (1620 degrees of rotation), while grabbing the backside of his board (Japan).
Kotsenburg’s score of 93.50 in the first round stood up until the end.
Of course not everyone was happy as some questioned the judging process.
“I just don’t know what the judges wanted to see on the course today,” said Canadian Max Parrot, who finished fifth with a score of 87.25.
Men’s Slopestyle Final Results
| Place | Name | Country | Score |
| 1 | Sage Kotsenburg | USA | 93.50 |
| 2 | Staale Sandbech | Norway | 91.75 |
| 3 | Mark McMorris | Canada | 88.75 |
| 4 | Sven Thorgren | Sweden | 87.50 |
| 5 | Maxence Parrot | Canada | 87.25 |
| 6 | Jamie Nicholls | Great Britain | 85.50 |
| 7 | Peetu Piiroinen | Finland | 81.25 |
| 8 | Yuki Kadono | Japan | 75.75 |
| 9 | Sebastien Toutant | Canada | 58.50 |
| 10 | Billy Morgan | Great Britain | 39.75 |
| 11 | Roope Tonteri | Finland | 39.00 |
| 12 | Gjermund Braaten | Norway | 24.75 |
Via NBC
