OLYMPICS: Freestyle-Norway's defending champion Ruud through to big air final

LIVIGNO, Italy – Defending champion Birk Ruud of Norway secured a spot in the Winter Olympics freestyle skiing big air final on Sunday, joining other top contenders including American Mac Forehand and New Zealand's Luca Harrington.

Ruud, who qualified third out of 12 finalists for Tuesday’s showdown, already has a Milano Cortina gold medal from the freestyle slopestyle event, where Harrington earned bronze.

Forehand led the pack on Sunday, followed closely by Austria’s Matej Svancer. U.S. skier Troy Podmilsak, the current World Cup leader, also advanced to the final, as did Frenchman Mathias Roche, who impressed with the second-highest single score of the night on his first jump.

Ruud said he was ready for a tough competition. “It’s going to be tight in the top section, and there’s going to be a lot of big, big tricks. The plan is just to enjoy it and put down my best tricks,” he said.

Forehand, who secured his place with strong first two jumps, admitted the cold weather caught him off guard. “I didn’t know it was going to be this cold, so I’m not really wearing much. I’m pretty cold right now,” he said after a relaxed third run.

Home crowd favorite Miro Tabanelli missed out on the final after strong opening run was undone by falls in his next two attempts. American Alex Hall, silver medalist in slopestyle, also failed to qualify.

Hundreds of spectators braved sub-zero temperatures to watch the night-time event in Livigno, with electronic disco music setting the scene. The music stopped briefly, however, when Finland’s 18-year-old Elias Lajunen crashed awkwardly in the first round.

Lajunen gave a thumbs up as he was taken off on a stretcher. A spokesman for Finland’s Olympic team confirmed he was conscious and able to move his hands and legs after being transported to a hospital.

-Reporting by Alvise Armellini and Lisa Richwine; Editing by Ken Ferris/Reuters