Nico Porteous has claimed New Zealand's second ever gold medal at the Winter Olympics, winning the men's freeski halfpipe final in Beijing this afternoon.
The Wanaka freeskier had an impeccable first run on the Olympic course, landing a thrilling combination of back-to-back 1620s, to score 93 points. He crashed out on his third run, but held on to that lead to win the gold.
Porteous is the reigning world champion and now has a gold to match the bronze he won in Pyeongchang four years ago
In windy conditions in the mountains northwest of Beijing, the skiiers found it tough going with many athletes crashing out on their runs.
The USA's David Wise won the silver with a score of 90.75 on his first run, while Alex Ferreira, also from the US, took the bronze.
Nico's brother Miguel Porteous also competed in the event, finishing 11th.
Porteous' gold medal is only the second for New Zealand at the Winter Olympics, after Zoi Sadowski-Synnott won the country's first in the women's slopestyle event last weekend.
Sadowski-Synnott also won a silver medal at Beijing, with a big performance in the women's snowboard Big Air final.
