United States snowboarder Sage Kotsenburg won the first-ever Olympic slopestyle gold medal with victory in Sochi. Britain’s Jamie Nicholls was in silver medal position after the first of two rounds but finished sixth, with team-mate Billy Morgan 10th. Kotsenburg scored 93.50 points, with Norway’s Staale Sandbech (91.75) second and Canada’s Mark McMorris (88.75) third. “I did the best I could do,” said Nicholls, who scored 85.50. “Today is insane; the standard of riding was unreal. To be in that mix was incredible. “I was in there [the medal positions] for a while but I just knew it wasn’t going to be. “My first run was the best run I have ever done in my life. I landed a backside triple 1440 and that is the first time I have ever landed that trick in a contest. “I messed up at the start of my second run and that is how it goes. But I wanted to put down an even better run than I did the first time.” Nicholls’ sixth place was the highest-ever finish for a British man in a snow-sport event at an Olympic Games. His performance even drew praise from Wimbledon tennis champion Andy Murray, who tweeted: “Jamie Nicholls just smashed it!” after his opening round score of 85.50 – which proved to be the snowboarder’s highest. Slopestyle is making its Olympic debut in Sochi and much of the build-up to the event had focused on the condition of the course after Norwegian medal prospect Torstein Horgmo was ruled out of the Games with a broken collarbone. By Nick Hope- BBC Sports
