A big chunk of heart fell from Anna Gasser’s heart. The Carinthian (30) struggled with sloppy errors during her first assignment in Zhangjiakou. In the end, Gasser qualified fourth thanks to a better second run in the slopestyle qualifier with 75 points with no tremors. The final of the top 12 takes place on Sunday night (2.30 a.m. Central European Time).
Over the rails were at Gassers Uncertainties were evident in the first round, which she later explained as nervousness. “Once I’m on the kickers, I’m not nervous anymore. My feet aren’t quite as loose on the rails. Tomorrow I have to manage to find this looseness.”
She eliminated the initial difficulties on Saturday with the second run. In extreme cold, but less wind than feared closed Gasser with a “Backside 720 Weddle” and a no less sovereign “Frontside 720 Weddle”. The best qualifier was Zoi Sadowski Synnott from New Zealand (86.75) ahead of Japan’s Kokomo Murase (81.45).
“A very big weight fell from my heart. It really didn’t have to be that I made such a mistake in the rail on my first run, my safety run. I knew that the first would not be enough for the final.” She was annoyed that she made such a blunder in this “easy run”. “That was the run where I actually didn’t have to concentrate anymore.”
In the medal decision, she wants to increase the difficulty of her tricks: “I’ll make a double out of the first flip, on the second I’ll also make a double and when I’ve stood that, I’ll try to add a little more to the last kicker. I might leave the front seven, but I could still increase it to a double 10. I have to look at the situation.”
2018 had Gasser in Pyeongchang won the Olympic gold medal in Big Air, which was awarded for the first time. In the slopestyle competition, like many of her competitors, she had to contend with the gusty wind and ended up only 15th as one of the favorites.
