Freestyle star Birk Ruud appeared and became world champion for the first time with Tuesday’s slopestyle victory in Georgia. Christian Nummedal took silver.

With 90.75 points, Bærum boy Ruud could be cheering for gold. He made a good first “run,” but was not rewarded with excellence. So he had to deliver in the final round, and he did. With a few mistakes and a great trick, he secures the win.

After the victory was sealed, Ruud said that his performance was not at his best.

– It feels great. It’s been a tough day. I woke up feeling feverish, so I canceled the first half of practice to save energy. I’ve done it before, and it worked again today, said Ruud in an interview with the organisers.

Christian Nummedal was also very strong and took his first championship medal while securing second place with 87.08 points. He fell in his first attempt, but bounced back strong in his second. The Hakadal athlete was rewarded with a very good score.

– It was a really crazy day. There are some unsettling moments, but it’s absolutely sickening that I pulled it off. I was very emotional and almost cried, Nummedal told Viaplay.

Earlier on Tuesday, Johanne Killi took bronze in the women’s slopestyle. So it was a good Norwegian day at Bakuriani.

– I am very happy on behalf of “Nummi”. Three medals, very good, said Ruud.

First WC title

Ruud already has one WC silver in slopestyle, while he is the reigning Olympic champion in big air. On Tuesday, he also earned his WC gold.

– It’s great to have a WC title. Now I can say that I am the best in the world, at least today, said Ruud.

Sebastian Schjerve was the medal favorite in the final after finishing third in qualifying. He missed the first attempt, but in the number two “run” he got 81.85 points. It lasted up to 5th position.

Tormod Frostad finished in 15th place with 35.05 points after missing both attempts.

Next big air

Ruud won his qualifier with a score of 91.50 and was the gold candidate in the final. There he faced competition from his compatriots, but with a great last effort he secured the win.

Ruud won the World Cup race in slopestyle in the US in early February. Then he has Schjerve right behind him on the results list. Ruud finished fifth at last year’s Olympics.

WC ends with a big air for Norwegian men’s free skiers on Sunday.