Anderson becomes first woman with 2 snowboarding medals at single Olympics

PYEONGCHANG, South Korea -- American Jamie Anderson finished second in the big-air event to become the first woman to medal twice in snowboarding at a single Olympics.

Two men, Zan Kosir and Vic Wild, each accomplished the feat in 2014.

Anderson, who earlier won gold in slopestyle, an event she also won in 2014, joined Kelly Clark and Shaun White as the only U.S. competitors to each win three snowboarding medals.

In big-air, snowboarders are judged on posture, tricks performed in mid-air, the difficulty of tricks and landings. Only the best two of three attempts are counted.

Anderson, 27, started out strong, leading by 6 points after her first run, but she had to settle for the silver medal after not landing a cab-1080 in third run. Her final score of 177.25 trailed Austrian Anna Gasser's 185. Zoi Sadowski-Synnott of New Zealand took bronze with 157.5.

"I chose to kind of play it a little bit safe and put two down and then hope to land it on my third run, which, unfortunately, didn't work out." Anderson said. "But I'm so proud of myself for just sending it and trying it."

Anderson said it was the best big-air event she'd ever been a part of, "with it being the Olympics and everyone wanting to do their best, and really showcase what the babes are all about."

The big-air finals were moved up to Thursday from Friday partly to help ensure good weather and course conditions, which allowed Anderson and her peers "to do what we're capable of."

"It feels better," Anderson added, "because we have great conditions and everyone was able to ride their best. So it feels rewarding. It just feels good."