Twelve women have the chance to make history in the 2018 Winter Olympics, as the first-ever women's snowboard big air final is on the horizon.
Among those through to the final are the United States' Jamie Anderson and Canada's Laurie Blouin, who earned gold and silver, respectively, in the women's slopestyle in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
Below is the viewing information for the women's big air final and a preview for Wednesday's event.
Viewing Info
Date: Wednesday, Feb. 21 (Thursday in Pyeongchang)
Event Start Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
Watch: NBC
Live Stream: NBC Sports Live
Women's Snowboard Big Air Preview
While women's snowboard big air was a new addition for the 2018 Olympics, it has been a part of the Winter X Games and FIS Freestyle Ski and Snowboarding World Championships for a few years.
During that time, Anna Gasser has been a constant presence on the medal stand. The 26-year-old Austrian is the reigning world champion in the event after winning gold at the 2017 World Championships, and she also earned gold at the 2018 Winter X Games. Prior to that, Gasser won silver at the 2017 Winter X Games and bronze at the 2017 Winter X Games Europe.
Gasser cemented her status as the gold medal favorite in Pyeongchang when she posted the highest score of the qualifying round (98.00) after hitting a cab double cork 1080.
"The level has been so high, and so it was so sick and a little different than a World Cup, especially after slopestyle where we didn't really show our best riding," Gasser said after her run, per Shawn Smith of NBCOlympics.com. "Already this qualifying has made up for that."
The Japanese duo of Yuka Fujimori and Reira Iwabuchi may be the stiffest competition for Gasser. They placed second and third in qualifying, with Fujimori earning a 94.25 and Iwabuchi scoring 92.75.
The 16-year-old Iwabuchi in particular could be a serious threat to Gasser. She finished second in the snowboard big air at the 2018 Winter X Games and claimed first place at a FIS World Cup event last October.
Jamie Anderson may be the United States' best hope of bringing home a medal. Anderson was the bronze medalist in big air at the Winter X Games and repeated as the gold medal winner in snowboard slopestyle earlier in the 2018 Olympics.
Anderson was the sixth-best qualifier after the judges gave her a 90.00 overall score on her second jump. NBC Olympics shared a replay of the run:
In addition to Anderson, two other Americans reached Wednesday's final. Julia Marino was ninth in qualifying, and Jessika Jenson claimed the last spot in the final after edging Australian Jessica Rich by two points for 12th place.
The fact the scores reset ahead of the final could be a big equalizer for the rest of the field as somebody looks to dethrone Gasser. Her nearly flawless qualifying jump won't count for anything Wednesday night.
However, the scoring system in the final could make the odds of an upset even slimmer. Unlike events such as the halfpipe and slopestyle, where competitors keep only their top score, the top two scores are combined in big air.
Even if Anderson, Iwabuchi, Marino, Jenson, Fujimori or another snowboarder wows the judges with an incredible jump, that probably won't be enough to beat out Gasser.
Along the same lines, Gasser can afford to slip up once without it hurting her overall score—a snowboarder as good as she is will unlikely make two mistakes in the final of the Olympics.
For those reasons, Gasser gets the nod to collect her first Olympic gold medal.
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