LIVIGNO, Italy — Finland slopestyle skier Kuura Koivisto ditched the ski suit Saturday and made his Olympic trip down the mountain in a tank top.
It was a moment that landed somewhere between "Hot Dog, The Movie" — that bawdy freestyle-skiing cult classic from 1984 — and the cauldron of Olympic pressure bubbling up during the qualifying round at Livigno Snow Park.
The moment belonged to Koivisto, the 25-year-old who showed he'll do anything to win.
"Not the most exciting answer probably, but it was just about speed for me," he said. "I was skiing in a big hoodie (during training) and it was making it harder to clear the jumps."
The crowd loved it on a sunshiny day with the temperature at around 2 degrees Celsius (36F). The judges — less enthused. Koivisto finished 14th — two spots out of the top 12 who advance to Tuesday's men's final.
Koivisto said this was nothing new for him.
"I usually ski in a tank top in spring and it pretty much felt like home," he said.
Given another chance to bare all — or at least some — on an Olympic course, he said, "I'd probably do the same thing. It's only a minute of skiing."
