At the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, many gold medals are earned in the air. Generally the athletes that manage to defy gravity for the longest can pull off the most complex maneuvers, positioning themselves for the podium.
In the newest Olympic sport, big air, athletes shoot down a 49-meter-high hill and launch themselves off a ramp. The sport consists of that one jump and as many tricks as athletes can fit into their time in the sky.
It’s called big air for a reason.
Jamie Anderson of the U.S. won the silver medal. Earlier in the week, she won a gold in slopestyle snowboarding.
Halfpipe snowboarders and skiers have more than one chance to go skyward. While traveling down the 170-meter halfpipe, athletes sail — sometimes over 20 feet above the rim — to perform a variety of tricks. They are judged on the degree of difficulty, height and technique.
American Shaun White won his third gold in the halfpipe. His third run was nearly flawless, and included a frontside double cork 1440 followed by a cab double cork 1440. Trust us, that’s really hard.
Halfpipe skiers are judged on the number of turns, snowboarders are judged on the number of rotations. So these athletes don’t need to just get themselves in the air. To win, they need to stay there for as long as they can to complete their run.
Canada’s Cassie Sharpe won the gold medal in the ski halfpipe with a run that included back-to-back 900s and a cork 1080.
For a figure skater to earn a spot on the podium, they need to rise above the ice. Each jump is worth a certain number of points based on the degree of difficultly, and judges frequently watch slow motion replays of routines to make sure rotations are properly noted.
Japanese gold medalist Yuzuru Hanyu performed quad salchows and quad toe loops, earning his second consecutive gold medal.
Russian gold medalist Alina Zagitova successfully landed a triple lutz — triple loop combination in both her short and long program.
No one can compete with the airborne speed of downhill skiers at the Olympics. To reach the bottom of the hill first, they must navigate jumps quickly and smoothly. That means being airborne at some 80 mph and landing safely, only to make a turn and do it again.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.