US team wins freestyle skiing aerials gold medal

The United States placed first in the freestyle skiing mixed team aerials final on Thursday, giving America its fourth gold medal at the Beijing Winter Olympics.

China received a silver medal, and Canada took home the bronze. This year was the first time the Olympics held the mixed team event, according to The Associated Press.

The gold medal marked the first time the U.S. secured medals in freestyle skiing since 2010, when Jeret “Speedy” Peterson took home silver, according to the AP.

Ashley Caldwell, Christopher Lillis and Justin Schoenefeld made up the winning U.S. team.

Caldwell first competed in the Olympics in 2010 as a 16-year-old at the Vancouver Games, according to the AP. The Beijing Games are the fourth Olympics she has competed in but the first time she has ever placed higher than 10th.

“I’ve been in the hunt for a gold medal my entire career,” the now-28-year-old said, according to the AP.

She also applauded her teammates, saying Lillis “has been like like a brother to me forever,” and calling Schoenfeld, whom she has been dating for roughly three years, “the love of my life.”

“To do it with these guys is incredible,” she said.

Lillis received the highest score of any trick performed in the final competition, according to the AP, receiving a high mark for his back double full-full-double full.

He said preparing for the Olympics has been a three-year process for the team, especially “being able to throw those quintuple twisting triples,” according to the AP.

“I was just happy to get the opportunity to throw one and to put it down,” he added.