James Woods
Injured Woods secures fifth place finish in freestyle finals.

Briton James Woods missed out on a medal in the men's ski slopestyle final at the Winter Olympics in Sochi as the United States secured a clean sweep of the podium places.

22-year-old Woods had been struggling with a hip injury he sustained in a training run late last week but was awarded a score of 86.60 on his first run to seal a spot in the top five as American Joss Christensen secured gold with a score of 95.80 ahead of compatriots Gus Kenworthy in second and Nicholas Geopper in third.

Norwegian hopeful Andreas Hatveit threatened to crash the American party in the final run of the event, recording score of 91.80 that was good enough for fourth place at the Rosa Khutor Extreme Park.

"I am incredibly proud to be here," Woods told BBC Sport. "It is always a bit disappointing when you do not perform to your best, but it was an immense final.

"Joss Christensen is the nicest guy, so I could not be happier for him.

"In any other occasion I would not be near my skis and boots. Potential is something that can be great or can cut you deep. I cannot be unhappy with this - it is the world stage.

"Fifth in the Olympics, with four of my best mates in front of me, it is great."

Sheffield –born Woods entered the 2014 Games as one of Great Britain's biggest medal hopes, but those prospects were hampered after a fall in training last Friday that almost derailed his preparation for Wednesday's finals.

But he showed no signs of the injury during qualification as he earned a score of 87.20, a tally good enough for third place.