He was only bumped down one spot, to 12th, taking the last qualifying spot for the final.
Kenworthy had to wait in anticipation as the final riders dropped in for their last runs before breathing a sigh of relief. His second run was conservative and totaled 70.75 points, which originally slotted him 11th. Kenworthy’s career almost came to an end during the men's freeski halfpipe qualifier at the 2022 Winter Olympics, though. Kenworthy was worried he would be too tired to perform well during the halfpipe event, so he played it safe. Big air was first, followed a week later by slopestyle and then ending with halfpipe two days later. He decided to call off his attempt at doing big air and slopestyle after seeing the event schedule for the Games. Since Kenworthy had already earned an early team spot, he only needed to worry about recovering in time for the Olympics.Īt first, Kenworthy had his eyes set on competing in three disciplines: big air, slopestyle and halfpipe. These were two notable absences because most snowboarders have to compete and place well at several eligible competitions in the season leading up to the Olympics in order to qualify for their national team. This hindered his ability to compete and caused him to withdraw from the first World Cup event of the season and Dew Tour. He still felt lingering symptoms from the virus for at least six weeks after he tested negative. While training in Switzerland in October 2021, Kenworthy suffered from a bad concussion and then tested positive for COVID-19 two weeks later. His early qualification was key in his journey to his final Olympics. After switching to Great Britain, Kenworthy had relatively no competition and qualified a year early for the Olympic team without taking away a spot that another American athlete could’ve had instead. For the past two Winter Olympics, Kenworthy had to compete against his American friends for a spot on the team. It also meant that there would be less pressure. As a dual citizen who was born in Great Britain but grew up in Telluride, Colorado, he decided to make the change to honor his British mother, Pip.Ĭompeting for Great Britain, a country with few elite-level freeskiers, meant that Kenworthy could spend more time focusing on training for his Olympic runs than trying to qualify for the Olympics. In 2019, Kenworthy switched from competing for the U.S. Now, at his final Olympics, he's only competing in the halfpipe, and for another country. Then, Kenworthy narrowly missed the halfpipe team in 2018. halfpipe team as a discretionary selection in 2014, but the coaches opted to pick teammate Torin Yater-Wallace for the spot instead. He was in contention to be named to the U.S.
The final box left to check in Kenworthy's career was something that eluded him his entire life: the chance to compete in the freeski halfpipe event at the Olympics.
” Despite achieving this, Kenworthy still wanted to do one last thing before retirement. “…Getting to be out and getting to go to the Olympics as an out gay man is something bigger than. “There’s been such a lack of representation that it’s nice to have that now,” Kenworthy said. Although he didn’t earn a medal in PyeongChang, he felt like a winner. A post shared by gus kenworthy kiss was a big deal for Kenworthy.