Freestyle skiers pick their soundtracks at the Winter Olympics

The Olympic big air jump in freestyle skiing and snowboarding causes hearts to thump and nerves to fray

LIVIGNO, Italy -- Standing atop a makeshift 15-story tower, moments before hurtling down a nauseatingly steep slope for the big air jump at the Winter Olympics, freestyle skier Evan McEachran still needed that little extra burst of adrenaline.

So it’s time to crank up the tunes.

Earphones snug inside his crash helmet, McEachran got revved up listening to some rap while mentally going through the routine of acrobatic twists and turns he was about to perform while flying through the frosty night air in the Italian Alps.

“Tonight I had a little bit of hardcore rap music going to get motivated and to push me,” the Canadian skier said after Sunday’s qualifying session for the men’s big air final.

“You can hear the crowd erupting," he said. "But I needed all the help I could get just to be fired up and try to send it off the jump.”