A trio of New Zealand freestyle skiers are through to the final of the men's halfpipe event at the Winter Olympics in Pyeonchang.
New Zealand freeskier Byron Wells. Photo: Photosport
Bidding to be one of 12 athletes to advance to the medal-deciding runs from the 26-strong field, brothers Byron and Beau-James Wells were joined by 16-year-old Nico Porteous in achieving that in this afternoon's two qualification runs.
Byron Wells nailed a 88.60 with his first run to notch the fourth best score, while Beau-James finished fifth after scoring a 88.20 second time down the pipe.
Porteous sat outside the finals spots in 15th after a solid 51.20 on his first run before stepping up with a score of 72.80 during the second set of runs to finish 11th.
Porteous' older brother Miguel missed out on making it through, finishing 17th with a best score of 62.60 on his second run.
"To nail two solid runs is a huge weight off my shoulders," Beau-James Wells, the New Zealand flagbearer for the Games' opening ceremony, told Sky Sport.
"For the final I just want to land the run I've been thinking about for years. I hope there are kids at home watching this thinking - I wanna do that sport."
After being selected for the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi but having to wtihdraw the day before he was due to compete with a leg injury, Byron Wells is taking part in his first Olympics, while brother and two-time junior world champion Beau-James was sixth in Sochi.
The Porteous brothers are both making their first Olympic appearance, with Nico becoming the youngest New Zealand athlete to feature at a Winter Games.
The final of the men's halfpipe event is scheduled for Thursday afternoon.
- RNZ