Nico Porteous has claimed New Zealand's second ever gold medal at the Winter Olympics, winning the men's freeski halfpipe final in Beijing this afternoon.
The Wanaka freeskier had an impeccable first run on the Olympic course, landing a thrilling combination of back-to-back 1620s, to score 93 points. He crashed out on his third run, but held onto that lead to win the gold.
Porteous is the reigning world champion and now has a gold to match the bronze he won in Pyeongchang four years ago
In windy conditions in the mountains northwest of Beijing, the skiiers found it tough going with many athletes crashing out on their runs.
Defending Olympic champion David Wise of the United States was second, with his team-mate Alex Ferreira took the bronze.
Brother Miguel Porteous also competed in the event, finishing 11th.
Wise, who won gold in the halfpipe at both the Pyeongchang and Sochi Games, took silver with 90.75 after he was unable to best the New Zealander in his final run.
"Ahhh, I wanted to do so much more," Wise could be heard saying at the finish.
Skiers soared over a giant halfpipe as frosty wind pushed air temperatures down to -22 degree Celsius. Several skiers crashed and fell into the pipe from the outset and many of them commented on the strong wind.
American Aaron Blunck, who dropped into the halfpipe last on Saturday, crashed and fell to the bottom of the pipe. After a few moments surrounded by medical staff, the American skied down the course to applause from his teammates and rivals.
Porteous' gold medal is only the second for New Zealand at the Winter Olympics, after Zoi Sadowski-Synnott won the country's first ever Winter Olympics Gold in the women's slopestyle event.
Sadowski-Synnott has also won a silver medal at the Beijing Olympics, with a big performance in the women's snowboard Big Air final.