Feb 15 β€’ 09:36 UTC πŸ‡ͺπŸ‡ͺ Estonia ERR

WATCH LIVE | Henry Sildaru aims for a place in the finals at the big ramp

Henry Sildaru is competing in the men's Big Air qualification event at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics, seeking to improve on his previous qualification result.

Henry Sildaru is set to take part in the men's Big Air qualification round at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics. The event is scheduled for Sunday, with live coverage beginning at 20:30 on ETV2 and ERR's sports portal, featuring commentary by Kristjan Kallaste and Riho-Laast Laas, and reporting by Debora Saarnak. Sildaru, at just 19 years old, expressed disappointment after finishing 21st out of 28 competitors in the park skiing qualification round, marking a challenging start to his Olympic debut.

Despite his earlier setback, Sildaru has the opportunity to redeem himself in the Big Air event, a category he has not specialized in but where he has shown promise. Last year, he secured 15th place at an event in Aspen, and managed to achieve 14th at a competition in Beijing last December. In the Big Air format, each athlete has three attempts to execute jumps, with the best two scores combined to determine who advances to the finalsβ€”where 12 competitors will compete for the medals.

The inclusion of Big Air in the Olympic program is relatively recent, having debuted in the last Olympics in Beijing, where Norwegian athlete Birk Ruud clinched the historical gold medal. As Sildaru prepares for this pivotal qualification round, the focus is not only on his performance but also on the potential to bring home an Olympic medal for Estonia, igniting excitement among local fans and raising the stakes for this young athlete's Olympic journey.

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