By Lisa Richwine and Alvise Armellini
LIVIGNO, Italy, Feb 17 (Reuters) – Heavy snow scrambled the Winter Olympics schedule in the Italian town of Livigno on Tuesday as organisers postponed the women’s snowboard slopestyle medal event and the start of the freestyle aerials.
Officials decided it was too dangerous to hold the qualifying round for women’s aerials under a steady snowfall, which could limit visibility and impact speed on the steep jump at the Livigno Aerials and Moguls Park. Workers used shovels to keep the buildup of snow on the course to a minimum. Temperatures hovered at a chilly -6 Celsius.
Competitors in women’s aerials qualifying had completed practice rounds just before organisers postponed the event’s start. The field includes defending champion Xu Mengtao of China and reigning silver medallist Hanna Huskova, a Belarusian who is competing as a neutral athlete. After a few hours of monitoring the weather with hopes for a late start, organisers called the event off for the day.
Officials have not yet set a new date and time for the women’s aerials qualifiers or the men’s event, which had been due to take place on Tuesday afternoon.
Across town, organisers cancelled the women’s slopestyle final scheduled for Tuesday afternoon at the Livigno Snow Park and said they would move it to another day. Slopestyle involves snowboarders navigating metal rails and other obstacles.
New Zealand’s Zoi Sadowski-Synnott, the defending Olympic gold medallist and reigning world champion, is favourite for the slopestyle final after leading the qualifiers. One of her main rivals is expected to be Japan’s Murase Kokomo.
(Reporting by Lisa Richwine, editing by Ed Osmond)
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