Gu clinches big air bronze to close world championships with three medals

WASHINGTON - China's Gu Ailing continued to shine at the FIS World Freeski and Snowboard World Championships in Aspen, Colorado on Tuesday, as the 17-year-old claimed a Freeski Big Air bronze medal to add to her world titles in halfpipe and slopestyle.

The Youth Olympic Games double gold medalist repeated her X Games glory from January where she took home the same three colored medals on debut.

Anastasia Tatalina pocketed the gold with a combined score of 184.50 points from two jumps, becoming the first athlete representing the Russian Ski Federation to win the title at the worlds in this discipline.

The 20-year-old is also the first female skier to put down left and right side double cork 1260s in competition.

Tatalina's compatriot Lana Prusakova took the silver with a score of 165.50, and Gu settled for the bronze after earning a score of 161.50.

In the men's competition, Sweden's Oliwer Magunsson won the gold with 185.25, edging Canadian skier Edouard Therriault who ranked second by only 2.25 points. Kim Gubser of Switzerland took the last place on the podium with 180.75.

Canadian athletes also dominated the event of the snowboard Big Air final as Laurie Blouin and Mark McMorris captured the women's and men's titles respectively.

Seven-time X Games champion McMorris finally won his first worlds title as he landed two different 1620s for 92.75 and 86.50, outscoring fellow Canadian Max Parrot by one point. Norwegian Marcus Kleveland, who won the slopestyle four days ago, took the bronze.

Blouin, the 2018 Winter Olympic slopestyle silver medalist, edged Zoi Sadowski-Synnott by only one point to win the women's gold. Japanese Miyabi Onitsuka finished third.