2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games: Nico Porteous praised for mental strength ahead of gold medal run

Nico Porteous claimed New Zealand's second gold medal of the Beijing Winter Olympics. Photo / Getty Images

Nico Porteous has been praised for his mental strength ahead of his freeski halfpipe final at the Beijing Winter Olympic Games, in an event with more challenges than simply the pressure of the moment.

On top of the pressure came the conditions; -25C, strong wind and snow that wasn't allowing the skiiers to get the speed they would have liked.

Porteous held his nerve in his opening run, going through the halfpipe with a clean display to post a score of 93.00. It was the only one of his three runs he completed, but it was the only one he needed as his first-run score stood as the top total for the rest of the event.

"We had an hour of practise before the competition, and it was just about finding what we could do on the day," Porteous' coach Tommy Pyatt told Newstalk ZB of the event.

"No one in the field was able to ski to their full potential because the conditions were a bit windy and the snow was a bit slow to go as high as they wanted, so we were just finding out what we could do for the day and he managed to go enough for the win."

Of the 36 runs combined between the 12 athletes in the final, only 15 were completed, and even then, some of the completed runs had issues with their landings. Only five of the 12 athletes were able to land a run resembling their best work and post a score of 80 points or higher, when nine were able to reach that mark in qualifying.

Pyatt said he was impressed with the way Porteous, 20, handled himself despite all the obstacles facing the athletes on the day.

"It was about negative 25 and windy, so it was very challenging. But it was no surprise that that could happen here. We knew this venue had that and we've been testing out different warm layers and different things just to make sure we could be the best prepared for today and he was able to stay warm and not be too surprised, so good on him. It takes a strong mental skiier to ski through that."

For Porteous, who went into the event as the favourite to take out the gold medal despite not having the top qualifying score, it was a matter of putting all of the hard work he had done into practice.

"It's been such a journey; an absolute journey. Full of highs and lows; it's been some of the times of my life and this just really caps it off," Porteous told Newstalk ZB.

"It's incredible and I'm still pinching myself to be honest; I really can't believe it."