Medals update: Ryan Regez wins gold as Swiss athletes go 1-2 in men's ski-cross final 

Ryan Regez has won a brilliant gold medal in the freestyle skiing men's ski cross final, beating compatriot Alex Fiva to the line as Swiss athletes took the top two spots on the podium.

The 29-year-old is competing in the Winter Olympics for the first time and capped a spectacular debut with a gold-winning run.

Following him closely to the line was teammate Fiva, the reigning world champion and oldest competitor in the event at 36. Third place went to ROC's Sergey Ridzik, who doubled up on the bronze he won four years ago in PyeongChang.

Earlier in the day, the semi-finals served up a real upset as reigning Olympic champion Brady Leman of Canada bowed out of the competition after finishing last.

It opened the door for another Swiss gold medal at Beijing 2022 - their seventh of the Games - as Regez claimed victory and the title of Olympic champion.

Regez, who came into the competition as favourite, was over the moon with his win at his first-ever Olympic Winter Games.

“It’s kind of incredible," he said. "The whole week of training, I’ve been so nervous and had so much pressure on myself because everyone was expecting me to come here and win – well, and I did!

“There was so much going on between that, so much going on in my head and in my stomach. I was so nervous all the time. Just being able to keep it clean in all the runs and taking the win today is absolutely incredible.”

Fiva, who came second in the final to win a memorable silver medal, reflected on a change of heart that saw him compete in Beijing after he considered not returning to the Olympics after PyeongChang.

"It means a lot. In Korea (Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018 where he finished ninth) I thought I'm not coming back at the Olympics.

"Now I've won a medal and it's great. I'm still a little disappointed about the last run (the big final), but a medal is a medal," he said.