Olympic gold medalist Shaun White's absence overshadowed the debut of slopestyle Thursday, the most recent action sport added to the Olympics.
The Carlsbad native pulled out of the competition because he didn't want to jeopardize his chance at becoming the first American male to win gold in three consecutive Winter Games.
After the finals on Thursday, no Americans were among the eight competitors who notched a secured spot in Saturday's final. Get results
U.S. riders Charles Guldemond, Sage Kotsenburg and Ryan Stassel will next compete Saturday in the semi-final.
Guldemond, who spent time at Chula Vista’s Olympic training center was annoyed about White’s decision, telling the media he had a feeling White would find a way to drop out of slopestyle.
"There was a lot of guys I trained really hard with sitting in that fifth spot and it's pretty unfortunate that they missed their opportunity to come to the Games," Guldemond told the Associated Press.
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After a fall in the finals, Canadian Mark McMorris, considered a gold medal favorite in the event, will need to navigate through Saturday’s semi-finals to get a shot at a medal.
Get Results of Men's Slopestyle Finals
Get Results of Women's Slopestyle Finals
On the women's side, two Americans secured a spot in the finals. Jamie Anderson, who saw the second-highest score on the women's side, and Karly Shorr will skip the semi-final round and head directly to Saturday's medal event.
Read: Recap of Women's Slopestyle Finals
As for the concerns surrounding the safety of the new slopestyle course, conditions were excellent with no wind and decent snow.
