Grishin of Belarus flies to men's aerials gold

(Agencies)
Updated: 2010-02-26 11:47

VANCOUVER: Alexei Grishin of Belarus soared through the air, twisted and flipped his way to a gold medal in the men's aerials on Thursday.

Grishin of Belarus flies to men's aerials gold

Gold medalist Alexei Grishin of Belarus celebrates in the finish area after his second jump in the men's aerials freestyle skiing final on Cypress Mountain at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics, February 25, 2010. [Agencies]

Grishin, 30, seemed immune to the pressure laid down by American Jeret Peterson who had just landed the hardest jump performed by any of the men to earn a first ever Winter Olympic gold for his country.

The Belarussian, who was second after the first round of jumps, cleanly landed his quadruple twisting back flip on the second jump to move ahead of Peterson and take the gold. After landing Grishin leaned down and pounded the snow in excitement.

Peterson won the silver after executing his signature "Hurricane" -- a triple back flip with five twists. China's Liu Zhongqing won bronze.