Advertisement

Teammates share incredible moment of sportsmanship

After one knocked the other off the podium in the ski halfpipe, Annalisa Drew and Brita Sigourney put on a brilliant display of Olympic spirit.

With a medal at stake for the American teammates, Drew and Sigourney fought down to the very last run on Tuesday.

INCREDIBLE: Wardrobe malfunction skater wins emotional medal

Sigourney scored a 91.60 on an invigorating slew of high-flying tricks and twists, beating Drew by a mere .80 points on her way to the bronze medal.

Despite the disappointment of missing out, Drew bear-hugged her teammate and friend at the end of the run, showing her love and appreciation for a great finish on what was a highly competitive event.

Beautiful. Image: Getty
Beautiful. Image: Getty

It was a heartfelt moment of sportsmanship shared with the entire world.


Canada's Cassie Sharpe dominated her rivals with the two best runs of the final to soar to gold.

Sharpe's second run score of 95.80 was more than enough to defeat France's Marie Martinod and Sigourney, who completed the podium places of an event that went to form.

"I am elated," Sharpe told reporters.

"It doesn't really feel real yet. I think I need to go and hug my family and really feel the love but it feels great as so much hard work has gone into this."

Drew and Sigourney. Image: Getty
Drew and Sigourney. Image: Getty

All three skiers had recorded two runs of more than 90 points in qualification and they brought a similar level of consistency to a final that saw the top five qualifiers repeat their order in the medals showdown.

America's Sochi gold medallist Maddie Bowman could only manage 11th of the 12 finalists after falling on all three of her runs.

However the real battle at the top of the leaderboard was between Sharpe and Martinod, with both skiers laying down two runs of more than 90 points before the Frenchwoman's challenge ended when the 33-year-old crashed on her last effort.

"When you have your hard-as-nails coach up the top in tears, it is kind of hard to zone in on what you are doing ... I didn't realise maybe how much my emotions would be gone at that point," Sharpe said, reflecting on her final effort.

"I had a moment when I fell and I was just sliding back, looking back up the pipe and thinking, 'you have done it'."

Despite the fall, Martinod matched her silver medal from Sochi four years ago.

with AAP