Belarus' Alexei Grishin wins Olympics gold
Grishin scored a combined total of 248.41 points in his two jumps on Vancouver's Cypress Mountain to finish just ahead of Peterson, on 247.21. Liu Zhongqing of the strong Chinese team took the bronze with 242.53.
Canada's Kyle Nissen, leading after his first jump, slumped to fifth overall after his second, disappointing a home crowd of nearly 9,000 under the lights.
"I still don't really feel it because I'm still a bit in shock," Grishin said.
Speaking about what he was going through his head before his last jump, he said. "I was up there and said to myself, 'I have to do it'."
And he said his country was strong at aerials for a number of reasons.
"We train, we jump a lot and we're very acrobatic. Good coaches, good athletes, a good atmosphere," he said.
Grishin, 30, was in second place after his first effort and watched Peterson shoot to the number one position as he nailed a jump of 128.62 on his second run but he stayed cool and did just enough to secure the first gold of the Games for his country.
The veteran Grishin, who won bronze at the Salt Lake City Olympics in 2002, is currently tenth in the World Cup rankings.
Peterson, who finished seventh in Turin, left the 2006 Olympics early after a drunken fight with a friend.
Liu, sixth in the World Cup rankings, was in third place after his first jump.
The Chinese team, who won silver and bronze in the women's aerials Wednesday, were highly fancied especially after number-one ranked skier Anton Kushnir of Belarus crashed out at the qualifying stage earlier this week.
Defending Olympic champion Han Xiaopeng of China also failed to make the final.
Chinese hotshot Jia Zongyang, currently third in the World Cup rankings, finished in sixth spot with teammate Qi Guangpu, ranked second, one spot behind.
Photo: AFP
