It was a historic Saturday night in Calgary as the 2023-24 freeski halfpipe World Cup season came to a close at the Winsport Canada Olympic Park. Alex Ferreira concluded his momentous World Cup campaign with his fifth win of the season out of the five World Cups, making history as the first male freeskier to put together a perfect season and took home the Crystal Globe. Teammate Svea Irving grabbed her first World Cup podium with a third-place finish.

Irving found herself in fifth place after run one and looked poised to up her position in the rankings before taking a fall on her final hit on an otherwise flawless run two. Visibly determined to end her season on a high note, the pressure was on as she dropped in for her final run of the season. Irving was seemingly unphased as she linked together an incredibly clean run three, earning her a spot in the nineties club and knocking Canada's own Amy Fraser out of the top three to grab her first career World Cup podium.

“Tonight was unbelievable. I’m so hyped,” said Irving. “I had kinda a rough go at the last comp and fell every single run, so I just put it all out there and am so stoked I was able to get on the podium for the first time.”

Irving’s podium is particularly bittersweet, having returned to competition this season after an unfortunate accident in the backcountry last April left her with a dislocated shoulder, torn bicep tendon, fractured rotator cuff and torn joint capsule. It was an emotional night for the entire team, watching Irving take her first career podium with brother and teammate Birk Irving cheering from the crowd.

Joining Irving on the women’s side were Stifel U.S. Freeski Team teammates Riley Jacobs and Kate Gray, who each put down a solid performance under the lights to finish their World Cup campaigns in fifth place and sixth place respectively. Sierra at Tahoe’s Piper Arnold made her first World Cup finals appearance, finishing the night in eighth place.

Ferreira completed the most dominant season in men’s halfpipe history, going five for five in World Cup victories on the season, a feat that has never been achieved in men’s halfpipe history. Factoring in his win at X Games, Ferreira’s winning streak extends to six competitions throughout the 2023-24 halfpipe season. When asked about continuing his streak at Dew Tour, Ferriera joked, “I mean that’s the goal, I’m gonna do my absolute best and not change anything, I’m just gonna do me.” 

Besides his second Calgary Snow Rodeo halfpipe win of the weekend, Ferreira was also awarded the coveted Crystal Globe, recognizing him as the leader in World Cup points for the FIS halfpipe season. Joining him on the podium for the overall World Cup halfpipe standings was teammate Hunter Hess, who landed on the podium with Ferriera for the majority of the season despite missing out on qualifying for Saturday’s finals in Calgary. 

Stifel U.S. Freeski Team domination continued with the rest of the men’s field of finalists, with Americans taking up 60% of the field of finalists. Dropping in wearing his signature pair of jeans, Olympian Nick Goepper entertained the crowd with an impressive second run that earned him a score in the coveted 90s and landed him in fifth place. Teammate Aaron Blunck continued to show consistency throughout the competition, stringing together all three of his runs and scoring an 89.75 to take home sixth. Dylan Ladd, Tristan Feinberg and Matt Labaugh rounded out the field of Americans, speaking to the depth of the Stifel U.S. Freeski Team in the halfpipe discipline.

With the FIS World Cup freeski halfpipe season done and dusted, the squad will return home for some well-deserved rest and recovery before a few members head to Copper Mountain for the Dew Tour in early March.

RESULTS
Women
Men

It was a night of victory for the Stifel U.S. Freeski Team in the first of two World Cup finals at the Snow Rodeo freeski halfpipe World Cup with Alex Ferreira writing his name in the FIS history books with his fourth straight freeski halfpipe World Cup podium, a new FIS World Cup record. 

Controversial scoring combined with a squirrely second hit that took many riders victim made for an entertaining Thursday night final at the World Cup double header in Calgary. Riley Jacobs was the top performer for the Stifel U.S. Freeski Team women, putting down three solid runs that consistently scored in the high seventies. After sitting in podium position the majority of the night, she was knocked out of the top three by Canada’s own Amy Fraiser, who stepped up under pressure in front of her home crowd and put down a final run worthy of a spot on the podium. Jacobs was joined by teammates Svea Irving and Kate Gray, but both were unable to string together a complete run. China’s Eileen Gu took the top spot on the women’s side, adding to her lead in the overall freeski halfpipe World Cup standings and once again proving why she is dubbed the “Snow Princess.”

On the men’s side, all eyes were on two-time Olympic medalist Ferreira, who repped the yellow bib to signify his top spot in the World Cup overall standings. He continued his dominant season with his fourth win in a row to reset a FIS record. 

“I’m amazed, I didn’t even know that,” joked Ferreira in a post-competition interview. “I’m just so grateful. I have a wonderful team around me. Thank you Calgary for a great atmosphere, what a great city to compete in front of. I’m so thankful.”

Ferreira was joined by teammates Hunter Hess, Dylan Ladd, Birk Irving and Olympic gold medalist David Wise, displaying the dominance of the American men in the halfpipe this World Cup season, with 50% of the field of finalists composed of Stifel U.S. Freeski Team athletes.

Despite falling on his first run, Hess continued his impressive season, scoring in the 90s on his second two runs but ultimately landing in fifth place. Ladd finished the night in seventh with an impressive first run score of 82.25, speaking to the high level of competition in the pipe for the men. Irving and Wise ended the night in eighth and ninth respectively.

The Stifel U.S. Freeski Team has another chance in the halfpipe with the second round of World Cup qualifications in Calgary on Friday morning. The freeski halfpipe season will wrap up Saturday night with the second round of finals at the Snow Rodeo freeski halfpipe World Cup.

RESULTS
Women
Men

After waiting out weather at Mammoth Mountain, the Stifel U.S. Freeski Team athletes finally kicked off their contest on the last day of the Toyota U.S. Grand Prix. Olympic champion Alex Hall took home the win with Olympic silver medalist Colby Stevenson in second place in the men’s event, while Eleanor Andrews was second and Jay Riccomini third in the women’s event.

Moving forward with the contest was due to the hard work of the Mammoth Park Crew. With two feet of snowfall and high wind gusts, the conditions were unsafe and not in the athletes’ favor coming out of X Games. One of the biggest challenges is always the travel; getting from Aspen to Mammoth is always tricky. With only a day or two turnaround, many of these athletes competed battling exhaustion, soreness and anticipation with a schedule constantly changing.

For athletes like Hall and Stevenson, who both scored medals at X Games, the momentum from Aspen carried straight into this year’s Toyota U.S. Grand Prix. Both of these contests bring together the best athletes in the world and they continue to push the boundaries. Hall did a switch Tokyo 270 on pretzel k-fed on first rail, slid the whole down flat down with a backseat pretzel 2, and finished his run with a signature right double cork 10 safety bring back 9. Stevenson did a switch disaster 4 on the dfd into dub 16 lead Japan, into both way switch double 14s on the bottom two jumps, lacing them both.

“It was a really tough week!” said Hall. “We showed up right from X Games so we were pretty smoked… Really stoked for all the homies who laid one down and the skiing was incredible for how tough it was out there. Also huge shoutout to the park crew because it snowed like two feet two days ago and they dug the whole thing out so I don’t even know how the course is standing.”

Mac Forehand also had a solid day, taking fourth place after throwing a switch 4 disaster pretzel 2 on the flat down into 2 on front cork 6, ending his run with double cork 9 lock with mute. 

Rounding out the U.S. men, Konnor Ralph was ninth and Troy Podmilsak 15th.

The women’s qualification round was canceled and they were only able to compete in finals due to weather. With only one round and variable conditions, they need to be extremely consistent.

In her first ever World Cup, Andrews stepped on the podium in second place. She did a front swap pretzel front 2 out of the first rail into switch 270 disaster on the flat down. On the jumps, she did a switch 5 mute into right cork 7 safety into left cork 7 mute, with style. She competes for the Killington Mountain School and is coming out of Youth Olympic Games in Gangwon, South Korea, where she received fifth place in freeski big air last week.

Jay received third place, his second podium in as many events after snagging third in LAAX. He did a switch 2 disaster on the flat down, into a misty 450 out of the cannon rail, ending his run with a cork 7 tail grab, lacing it.

Mathilda Gremaud out of Switzerland finished in first place. Behind the podium, Elaina Krusiewski was sixth and Rell Harwood was eighth.

After podiuming in the last slopestyle, Riccomini sits in second overall in the slopestyle standings with Hall and Forehand tied for first in the overall. It will be a tight race for the Crystal Globe going into the final two slopestyle events of the season.

Eleanor Andrews and Alex Hall both also received a national champion awards for this season.

The next stop for the slope athletes is Calgary for the next World Cup or staying in Mammoth for Revolution Tour. With another incoming storm, hopefully athletes get to celebrate with some storm riding and extra freshies in the meantime.

RESULTS
Women’s slopestyle
Men’s slopestyle

At the Toyota U.S. Grand Prix at Mammoth Mountain, the weather won, canceling the events due to unsafe riding conditions for both the men's and women's freeski halfpipe contests. With the cancelation, the men's and women's freeski halfpipe final results came from the qualification results that went down earlier this week, resulting in a Stifel U.S. Freeski Team podium sweep. 
 
2024 X Games gold medalist Alex Ferreira took first, X Games bronze medalist Hunter Hess was second and Nick Goepper took third place - his career first World Cup halfpipe podium. Outside of the podium, the U.S. men continued to dominate, with the top eight spots held by Americans. David Wise was just off the podium in fourth, Matt Labaugh fifth, Birk Irving sixth, Cassidy Jarrell seventh and Aaron Durlester eighth. 

For the women, Svea Irving led the way, closing out the domestic World Cup schedule with a fourth place. Teammate Riley Jacobs was sixth. 

With being the last domestic World Cup on the calendar, Irving, for the second year in a row, was crowned National Champion for freeski halfpipe, alongside teammate Ferreira for the men. 

A big shoutout goes to the operations team at Mammoth Mountain for putting safety first and doing everything they could to put on a safe event. 

RESULTS
Women
Men 

Kate Gray of the Stifel U.S. Freeski Team, who competes in both halfpipe and slopestyle disciplines, took home a bronze medal in the freeski women’s halfpipe competition at the 2024 Youth Olympic Games. 

Gray, who is representing Team USA in Gangwon, South Korea, is originally from Crowley, California outside of Mammoth Lakes and has made quite the impression so far in her young career. She won both freeski halfpipe and slopestyle in USASA Nationals in Copper in 2023 and also won the freeski halfpipe contest at the Mammoth Rev Tour in 2021 and 2022. Building up to this moment, Gray has found abundant success, now supported even more with a Youth Olympic Games bronze medal. 

"It’s been a long time coming," said Gray. "It’s very satisfying, I wanted to walk away with at least one medal and to get it on the last event and it’s definitely a relief that I finally got up there, it feels good."

Alongside Gray in the freeski halfpipe finals was Piper Arnold of the Sierra at Tahoe Competition Team. Arnold finished the day in fourth place, right off the podium. 

On the men's side, Hunter Maytin of the Aspen Valley Ski & Snowboard Club was fifth and Ben Fethke of the Hydro Flask U.S. Snowboard Team was sixth. 

RESULTS
Women's halfpipe

Sunday, Jan. 28, marked the final day of the 2024 Winter X Games in Aspen, featuring the final four events of the jam-packed weekend: men’s snowboard slopestyle, women’s freeski slopestyle, men’s freeski superpipe and women’s snowboard big air. With warmer temperatures in the forecast and exciting events, an impressive number of spectators came out for the final day of competition that featured some of the best athletes X Games has to offer.

Men's Snowboard Slopestyle

Olympic gold medalist and Hydro Flask U.S. Snowboard Team members Red Gerard, Judd Henkes and X Games medalist Chris Corning were set to take on the highly anticipated men’s snowboard slopestyle competition, featuring the king of X Games slope himself, two-time defending champion Mark McMorris. McMorris is synonymous with the event, having won 13 medals in 15 X Games slopestyle appearances and was the clear favorite heading into the first run of the morning. Gerard, having won almost every other major slopestyle competition, was determined to win the elusive X Games gold he’s been eyeing throughout his career. With multiple family members watching from the corral, Gerard put down all three of his runs, scoring nothing lower than a 93 and besting the legend McMorris, to secure his well-deserved and long overdue X Games gold. McMorris took second, tying him with Shaun White and Andy Macdonald for third on the all time X Games medals list with 23. Mons Røisland of Norway rounded out the podium in third. American Chris Corning, who took fourth in Saturday’s big air, finished seventh and Judd Henkes took ninth.

Women's Freeski Big Air

Having medaled in two events on Saturday, Stifel U.S. Ski Team’s own Rell Harwood continued her impressive X Games rookie year in the women’s freeski big air competition. With innovative lines and the style to back it up, Harwood proved she is one of the most exciting athletes to watch in the discipline and capped off her X Games debut with a solid fourth place. “My first time at X Games was an amazing and surreal week,” said Harwood. "It's so much fun skiing with all my friends, we had great weather, and I’m excited to hopefully come back!”

Men's Freeski SuperPipe

All eyes turned to the halfpipe as the Stifel U.S. Ski Team dominated the start list for the men’s freeski superpipe competition. Aspen native and two-time X Games superpipe gold medalist Alex Ferreira was joined by teammates and previous superpipe gold medalists David Wise and Aaron Blunk, along with Hunter Hess and Nick Goepper, the four-time slopestyle X Games gold medalist making his first appearance in the X Games superpipe.

Coming off back-to-back World Cup victories, Ferierra dropped in with confidence and nailed his first run, getting the crowd fired up with his signature pole swing in the finish. His run one score of 93.33 ended up holding the top spot throughout the entire competition and landed Ferierra back on top of the superpipe podium. Geopper, rocking a pair of jeans as a tribute to his fellow skiers in the midwest who can’t necessarily afford the fanciest gear, was a crowd favorite in the X Games superpipe for the first time in his career and finishing the night in an impressive fourth place. He was edged out of podium contention by teammate Hess, who was overcome with emotion after securing his first X Games medal with a third place finish. Blunck ended the night in sixth and defending X Games superpipe gold medalist Wise finished seventh.

Women's Snowboard Big Air

Although no Hydro Flask U.S. Snowboard Team athletes started in the women’s big air competition, it was still one for the history books and a display of the trick progression happening in the women’s field. Japan’s Kokomo Murase became the first woman to land a frontside 1440 and simultaneously became the first woman to win three snowboard medals at the same X Games since 1997. Japan’s Reira Iwabuchi took silver and Austria’s Anna Gasser the bronze.

After a successful showing at the 2024 X Games, the Stifel U.S. Ski Team and the Hydro Flask U.S. Snowboard Team return to World Cup competition with the Toyota U.S. Grand Prix at Mammoth Mountain this week, with qualifications scheduled to start on Wednesday.

It was a jam-packed second day of competition at the 2024 Winter X Games in Aspen with top results across the board from several U.S. Ski & Snowboard athletes. 

Men's Freeski Big Air

Mac Forehand came in with a chip on his shoulder after a fifth place finish in last night’s big air and put on a show in his second run, scoring a massive 94.33 and catapulting him to the top spot. After an impressive rail section on run two, an unfortunate fall on the first of two jumps forced Hall to put all pressure on his third and final run to grab a spot on the podium. Showing no signs of pressure, Hall strung together an effortlessly clean top-to-bottom run to best teammate Forehand and grab his second silver of the weekend. Norway’s Birk Rudd was the only competitor able to best the two Americans and added another X-Games gold to his resume. Stifel U.S. Ski Team member Colby Stevenson made an impressive return to competition, just missing the podium and placing fourth overall.

Women’s Snowboard Knuckle Huck

Aspen 2024 marked the X Games discipline debut of the women’s snowboard knuckle huck, and although pulling out of competition, knuckle huck legend and Hydro Flask U.S. Snowboard Team Jaime Anderson, who competed alongside the men in 2021, was on the sidelines to support. Wowing both spectators and judges with her trick innovation and signature steeze, It was Japan’s Kokomo Murase who made history, winning the first-ever X Games gold in the discipline.

Women’s Freeski Knuckle Huck

It was then time for the X Games debut of Stifel U.S. Ski Team athlete Rell Harwood and the freeski women’s knuckle huck. The field of competitors included athletes who are not typically seen on the traditional competition circuit, including American Taylor Lundquist who is widely considered a street skiing pioneer. Rell showed off her style and deep bag of tricks, earning her first X Games silver medal.

Men’s & Women’s Snowboard Street Style

Although not a medal-winning discipline, attention shifted to the park for the men’s and women’s snowboard street style competition, where Luke Winkelmann represented the Hydro Flask U.S. Snowboard Team in a field of legends of the street scene. Winkelmann proved he’s becoming a staple in the rail game, hanging with the likes of Zak Hale, Darcy Sharpe, Zeb Powell and Pat Fava. Winkelmann’s teammate and former X Games medalist Dusty Henricksen served as a guest judge and ultimately helped crown Fava as the winner. Winkelmann’s teammate Judd Henkes was set to compete but instead turned his focus towards tomorrow’s slopestyle competition.

Women’s Freeski SuperPipe

It was back to the SuperPipe to watch Stifel U.S. Ski Team members Svea Irving and Riley Jacobs drop in. Irving, the 2023 X Games bronze medalist in this event, and Jacobs, an X Games rookie, had their work cut out for them competing against the most highly anticipated skier of the weekend, China’s Eileen Gu. Gu, the three-time X Games medalist, was injured during Thursday’s SuperPipe practice causing her to withdraw from slopestyle, but showed no signs of injury as she continued the longest consecutive win streak in women’s halfpipe history, grabbing the X Games Gold. Zoe Atkin from Great Britain took silver and Canada’s Amy Fraser third, barely edging out Irving in the last run. 

Irving ultimately ended the day in fourth, with Jacobs in sixth. 

Women’s Freeski Big Air

Stifel U.S. Freeski Team athlete Rell Harwood was back in action for her second X Games event of the day, the women’s ski Big Air and ultimately took home her second X Games medal in the process, finishing the big air contest in third. 

This is Harwood’s second medal of X Games in her debut appearance in Aspen, putting her name at the top of the list and solidifying herself as one of the dominant athletes at this year’s event. 

Men’s Snowboard Big Air

Hydro Flask U.S. Snowboard Team athlete and previous X Games bronze medalist Chris Corning represented the team in the men’s snowboard big air competition. With three-time defending X Games champion Marcus Kleveland of Norway out with a concussion and unable to contend for the four-peat, it was anyone’s game in the field of eight riders. Japanese rider Taiga Hasegawa won his first X Games gold medal, throwing a switch backside 1980 on his final run and securing his place at the top of the big air podium. Corning was edged out of podium contention by Norway’s Mons Røisland, finishing the day in fourth.

Men’s Freeski Knucklehuck

In the final event of the evening, the corral was packed with fans to watch the men’s freeski knuckle huck event, a contest that showcases a unique style of skiing - where athletes launch themselves off the knuckle of the big air jump. Throughout the event, each athlete threw down, showcasing their style on one of the sport’s biggest stages. At the end of the night, it was Stifel U.S. Freeski Team athlete and Olympic medalist Colby Stevenson who took home the X Games gold medal. Stevenson just returned from injury last weekend in the Laax Open in Laax, Switzerland, and only a handful of days later, he’s now an X Games knuckle huck champ. Alongside Stevenson was teammate Cody LaPlante who finished within the top five in fifth and X Games legend Alex Hall in seventh. 

The best snowboard and freeski athletes descended on the slopes of Buttermilk Mountain in Aspen, Colorado for the first day of competition at the 2024 Winter X Games. Day one action included women’s snowboard slopestyle, men’s snowboard knuckle huck, men’s ski big air and men’s and women’s snowboard superpipe.

Hydro Flask U.S. Snowboard Team’s Hailey Langland kicked the weekend off in the women’s slopestyle competition, replacing teammate Julia Marino, who was unfortunately ruled out of competition due to injury. Athletes had three runs to show off trick difficulty, variety, use of course and execution, and the stacked heat of eight women threw down. Despite finding out she was competing only a few hours before, Langland came out strong and put down her first and best run of the day, scoring a 70.6 and landing fifth overall. The top spot went to 17-year-old Mia Brookes of Great Britain, who threw a never-been-done 1440 on the last jump to earn her first X Games gold.

Attention turned to the women’s superpipe competition where nine-time X Games medalist and Hydro Flask U.S. Snowboard Team rider Chloe Kim made her highly anticipated return to the event since her win in 2021. Back like she never left, Kim was dominant from the start and found herself sitting in the top spot after run one. After clinching the title, Kim put on a show in her victory lap to become the first woman to land a 1260 in halfpipe competition. She is now tied with snowboard legend Kelly Clark for most X Games superpipe victories, each with seven, and her perfect podium streak is still alive, with nine superpipe medals in nine starts.

Kim was joined in the pipe by two X Games rookies and her teammates Bea Kim and Kinsley White, who both showed poise under pressure and put down solid runs under the superpipe lights. White made her X Games debut after teammate and three-time X Games medalist Maddie Mastro was sidelined due to injuries sustained from last week’s Laax Open. Mastro sets her focus on recovery and hopes to be back to full health for next weekend’s Toyota U.S. Grand Prix in Mammoth Mountain, the place she calls home.

The Hydro Flask U.S. Snowboard Team was represented in the men’s knuckle huck by Luke Winkelmann and Jake Canter, who took on the likes of previous knuckle huck champion Zeb Powell in the 20-minute jam-style event that prioritizes creativity and style. With 2021 X Games gold medalist American Dusty Henriksen out with a back injury and three-time gold medalist Marcus Kleveland from Norway out with a concussion, Powell was the clear favorite, but it was the Canadian X Games rookie Liam Brearley who took the top spot on the podium, followed by Powell in second and fellow Canadian Darcy Sharpe in third. Winkelmann finished just off the podium in fourth and Canter took eighth.

Unlike previous years, the 2024 X Games big air competition featured three runs per rider, the first being a “style” trick that’s scored on a 1-10 scale and compromising only 10% of their total score. The remaining jumps were scored throughout a 30-minute jam format with only the best two counting toward their overall final score.

Reigning X Games big air champion and Stifel U.S. Freeski Team athlete Mac Forehand joined teammates Alex Hall and Troy Podmilsak to compete in the lone freeski event of the night. Hall, a nine-time X Games medalist, added another X Games silver to his resume, throwing a never-been-done switch 18 with a tail butter that was only bested by Podmilsak, who secured the gold by throwing a 2160, the same trick that won him a World Cup championship this past season. Forehand was the last to drop for the night and ended the night in a respectable fifth place.

It was back to the superpipe for the men’s snowboard competition at the end of the night, featuring a field of heavy hitters including Hydro Flask U.S. Snowboard Team member and X Games bronze medalist Chase Josey, who ended the day in seventh place. X Games superpipe king, Australia’s Scotty James, secured his third X Games victory in a row. 2023 FIS halfpipe Crystal Globe winner Ruka Hurano took silver and Kaishu Hirano, the Guinness World Record holder for highest halfpipe air, took bronze to round out the podium.

The action continues Saturday with the men’s ski slopestyle, women’s ski and snowboard knuckle huck, men’s and women’s snowboard street, women’s ski superpipe, men’s and women’s ski big air, men’s snowboard big air and men’s ski knuckle huck.

STARTERS

Men’s ski slopestyle

• Mac Forehand
• Alex Hall
• Colby Stevenson

Women’s ski knuckle huck

• Rell Hardwood

Men’s and women’s snowboard street

• Judd Henkes
• Luke Winkelmann

Women’s ski superpipe

• Svea Irving
• Riley Jacobs

Women’s ski big air

• Rell Harwood

Men’s snowboard big air

• Chris Corning

Men’s ski knuckle huck

• Alex Hall
• Cody LaPlante
• Colby Stevenson

HOW TO WATCH (times in ET)
12:30 p.m. - men’s ski slopestyle - live on ABC, live stream on xgames.com 
2:30 p.m. - women’s snowboard knuckle huck - live stream on xgames.com 
3:30 p.m. - women’s ski knuckle huck - live stream on xgames.com 
4:15 p.m. - men’s and women’s snowboard street - live stream on xgames.com 
7:00 p.m. - women’s ski superpipe - live stream on xgames.com 
8:30 p.m. - women’s ski big air - live stream on xgames.com 
10:00 p.m. - men’s snowboard big air - live on ESPN, live stream on xgames.com 
11:00 p.m. - men’s ski knuckle huck - live on ESPN, live stream on xgames.com 

Stifel U.S. Freeski Team rookie slopestyle athlete Henry Townshend took home a gold medal at the 2024 Youth Olympic Games in the freeski slopestyle contest in Gangwon, South Korea. 

In perfect conditions in Gangwon, 17-year-old Townshend of Park City, Utah, who was just named to the Stifel U.S. Ski Team earlier this season, pulled off a flawless run, putting down a 90.25. Through the contest, Townshend kept setting the bar higher and ultimately landed his first podium of the season and his career-first podium at the Youth Olympic Games. 

“So thankful for the opportunity to compete in the Youth Olympics,” said Townshend in a personal Instragram post following the medal ceremony. 

Townshend’s last victory was back in 2023 at the national championships at Copper Mountain, where he won the men’s freeski slopestyle. Now, on the world stage, he’s back on top, putting another gold medal into Team USA’s overall medal count. 

Jake Rodeheaver of Team USA also competed in the slopestyle contest, finishing the day in 19th. Olly Nicholls of Japan took the silver medal and Finland’s Jaakko Koskinen took bronze, respectively. On the women’s side, Stifel U.S. Freeski Team rookie athlete Kate Gray and Eleanor Andrews of the Killington Mountain School put down solid performances to land in the top 10. Gray made it through to finals and ended the day in sixth, with Andrews just outside of the finals in eighth. 

Next on the Youth Olympic Games freeski program is freeski big air. Qualifications throw down on Saturday, Jan. 27.

RESULTS
Women
Men