BOKWANG, Korea, Republic Of — Canadian skier Mike Riddle leaned on a railing, casually shot the breeze with reporters and watched the final competitor go down the halfpipe Thursday at the Winter Olympics.

Knowing he wouldn't make the podium, the 2014 silver medallist put on his fan hat and simply enjoyed the scene.

"Just watching this unfold is pretty awesome," Riddle said.

Competing here in Pyeongchang seemed to be a touch of Olympic gravy for the 31-year-old from Sherwood Park, Alta., a true veteran on the freestyle scene.

He finished second in snowy, blustery conditions when the sport made its Olympic debut in Sochi and took sixth place this time around. Sunshine blazed on the Phoenix Park halfpipe and the 11-man field tried to take advantage.

"No one got to put down a run (in Sochi) that we were really proud of," Riddle said. "To have this kind of weather and conditions to put down the best runs and really show our sport to the world in that light is amazing."

David Wise and Alex Ferreira provided a 1-2 finish for the United States and New Zealand's Nico Porteous — who just turned 16 a few months ago — won bronze.

Calgary's Noah Bowman was the top Canadian in fifth place. Bowman and Riddle had solid opening runs but couldn't top their initial scores over the three-run final.

"They definitely had the potential but just couldn't carry the momentum through," said coach Marc McDonnell. "We hit a nervous energy in the second and third runs."

Bowman pulled out of his second run early and fell on his third run. The 25-year-old, who finished fifth in Sochi too, appeared more disappointed than his teammate.

"The pipe is amazing, the weather is great, it's a perfect competition situation really," Bowman said. "It's just that we're going for the best runs of our lives and it's hard to put those down consistently.

"So I'm happy I landed one of three runs."

Riddle, who won silver at the world championships last year, fell on the last hit of his second run. Knowing he needed to boost his score into the mid-90s, he went big at the end and over-rotated on a trick before ending his run early.

"It's a little bit disappointing for sure," Riddle said. "But at the same time I have no regrets, I went for it. I was so happy to see my friends all throw down. I'm going to have a nice celebration tonight for sure."

Canada's Cassie Sharpe won gold in the women's ski halfpipe earlier in the week.

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