Probably the most emotional gold in Beijing

They may seem like it at times, but athletes are not machines. They are fragile, have emotions and struggle with everyday problems. Fluctuations in performance are therefore only too normal. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. And sporting downfalls are often the least of an athlete's worries, as Birk Ruud shows.

The man from Bærum is an exceptional expert in his sport. At the age of 17, the freestyler triumphed in the World Cup for the first time, and at the age of 21 he already has two small balls and now also an Olympic victory in his CV. But in contrast to his sporting career, the life of ski star Lucas Braathen's best friend wasn't always going uphill. His father Øyvind succumbed to a long battle with cancer last summer. message upwards And so on Wednesday the thoughts of the freestyler, who is extremely popular in Norway, turned to his late father. “He was always there for me, today he would be happy,” he said after his superior victory in Big Air and added that the tribute “came completely naturally.” “Pappa is with me and he and my mother made me what I am today. I learned so much from him and was inspired by him,” says Ruud. After the final jump, he also showed off a bracelet commemorating his father.

A statement from compatriot Christian Nummedal underlines how much Øyvind Ruud's serious illness has affected the entire team. He says she “influenced the whole team.” In fact, Ruud even thought about quitting at one point; in the previous season he only competed in two World Cups and the World Championships. Whereby he there left early because his father's condition had worsened. After his death, he found the strength to start again and came back stronger than ever this year. Ruud won in Stubai and also climbed onto the podium in Chur, before his already glorious career was crowned with an Olympic victory.

No wonder other athletes are raving about this. “I cry for you and your father,” Braathen wrote on social media. “I was touched,” said biathlon star Tiril Eckhoff: “It was extremely impressive – considering everything he’s been through.” This gold couldn’t have been the last in Beijing. The Norwegian is also one of the medal contenders in slopestyle. But even if he were to come away empty-handed there, Ruud is already the big winner of these games.

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Probably the most emotional gold in Beijing

“Pappa, you are with me,” said Big Air winner Birk Ruud to the cameras in Beijing on Wednesday after his victory, thus providing the emotional highlight of the Winter Games so far.

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