It was a tough Big Air competition in Kreischberg, Austria.

Sven Thorgren was in the lead after two of three jumps, but the Swede did not manage to defend that place.

He was happy afterwards.

- It feels good to have been able to do the first competition in a very long time, it's probably six months ago.

It was the first Olympic qualifying competition and therefore it was nice to get points for the Olympics.

It was good for self-confidence and nice to feel that the ride is where it should be, says Sven Thorgren to SVT Sport.

One point behind the winner

That was 164 points for Thorgren.

Just a stick from Max Parrot.

The Canadian did a sharp trick in the third jump and thus reached 165 points.

- One point from first place, I was in the lead for a very long time.

But Parrot is very sharp when he puts his best tricks.

I am still very happy with my ride, I did what I was supposed to, he says.

But sad not to win?

- I am a skier who often ends up in a second or a third place, I want to get away from it.

But based on what I had to give tonight, I did the best I could, I'm happy with that.

Strong starting field

There are fewer competitions than previous seasons due to the corona pandemic.

Therefore, it is extra important to do well at every competition to get to the Olympics.

- I was extremely nervous in the qualifiers.

I first did a good ride, then I fell in the second ride and was afraid of not qualifying further.

Then there were a lot of nerves.

But in the final I was not nervous, then I felt safe in the ride.

- Considering the situation, the starting field today was "all time high".

There are very many skiers who were here because no one can risk not being here.

There are always a few skiers missing, this is usually not a competition where everyone usually participates.

But now everyone was here.

So for me, it was even more confidence-building to be good when the best were in place.

Third in the competition came the Norwegian Mons Röisland with 163.2 points.

ARCHIVE: Thorgren's best hope in Beijing (December 14, 2019)

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Sven Thorgren took second place in the VC competition in Beijing.

Photo: SVT / Bildbyrån