02/20/26 02:25:00
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02/20 14:24 CST American freeskier Alex Ferreira completes his Olympic medal
collection with a halfpipe gold
American freeskier Alex Ferreira completes his Olympic medal collection with a
halfpipe gold
By JOSEPH WILSON
Associated Press
LIVIGNO, Italy (AP) --- American freeskier Alex Ferreira won the men's halfpipe
final at the Milan Cortina Winter Games on Friday to complete his collection of
Olympic medals.
The 31-year-old Ferreira won with a third and final run worth 93.75 points,
adding the gold medal to his silver from Pyeongchang in 2018 and bronze from
Beijing in 2022.
The Colorado native delivered the United States its first gold medal in nearly
two weeks of freeskiing or snowboarding at the Livigno snow park.
Estonia's 19-year-old Henry Sildaru captured the silver in his first Olympics.
His third run was just 0.75 points off Ferreira's mark.
Brendan Mackay of Canada took the bronze, nudging American Nick Goepper off the
podium on the last run of the 11-man final.
Ferreira twirled a pole above his head with a flourish upon finishing his
medal-clinching run. He then had to watch his final rivals take their last shot
before each came up short.
Goepper was going for a career fourth Olympic medal, only for Mackay to edge
him for third place. The 31-year-old Goepper had switched to halfpipe for this
Olympic cycle after winning two silvers and a bronze in slopestyle in the
previous three Games.
Goepper gave the crowd a scare on his final run when he smashed into the deck.
But he was up in a few moments and appeared to be unhurt.
Lee Seunghun of South Korea did not compete in the final after he crashed
making a warmup run.
The finalists also competed in the morning for qualifying, which was pushed
back to Friday because of heavy snow in the Italian Alps.
Reigning world champion Finley Melville Ives of New Zealand missed the final
after crashing during both of his qualifying runs.
In freeski halfpipe, like in snowboarding, competitors take turns zooming up
and down the curved surface and launching into a series of acrobatic leaps that
are scored for their difficulty and execution. Only their best of three runs
counted.
The halfpipe at the Livigno ski resort hosting these Olympic events measures
220 meters (240 yards) in length, 22 meters (24 yards) in width, and rises to
7.2 meters (23.6 feet) in height.
American Elizabeth Lemley won gold in women's moguls freeskiing at the Winter
Games, but the moguls events are held at a separate venue in Livigno. The
Livigno snow park hosts the halfpipe, slopestyle and big air events for freeski
and snowboarding.
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AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
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