Olympic aerials competition kicks off in Livigno, Italy, as 25 skiers in both the women's and men's disciplines attempt to make it past the qualifications round on Tuesday.

The Olympic aerials format consists of two qualification rounds followed by two final rounds. The top six advance directly to the final after the first round of qualification while those who did not qualify compete for the remaining six spots in the second round. Athletes’ scores are made up of air, form, and landing, with form making up 50 percent of the scoring.

Leading the charge are the members of the Chinese aerials team, who boast over 60 World Cup victories between them. China’s reigning Olympic champions both have returned to the medal mix after taking some time off, with Qi Guangpu winning back-to-back World Cup titles in men’s aerials while Xu Mengtao claimed her seventh Crystal Globe after finishing at the top of the World Cup standings this season.

Sun Jiaxu and Li Tianma join Qi in the race for Olympic gold. All three finished the season in the top three spots in the World Cup standings, with Sun taking home the coveted Crystal Globe. High risk reaps high reward, and Team China takes that motto to heart. The Chinese aerialists are known for their gravity-defying tricks, ranking amongst the best in the world for daring to attempt five twists. While the results vary competition to competition, successful landings on tricks with five twists give China significant leads by over 10 points in the final competition standings. Wang Xindi, another aficionado of the five-twist trick, rounds out the Chinese team. 

Ukraine's Dmytro Kotovskyi and Switzerland's Noe Roth are perhaps the only two in the field who can challenge this Chinese team. Both landed tricks with five twists in previous competitions, with Kotovskyi taking a win over Sun in Lac-Beauport, Canada, this season and Roth taking the win at the 2025 World Championships. However, their landings are few and far between, and a potential misstep could cost them dearly. 

Americans Quinn Dehlinger, Chris Lillis, Connor Curran, and Derek Krueger join the men's field in top form. Dehlinger in particular is enjoying a breakthrough past few years with back-to-back silver medals at the world championships to become the first skier to lock down a spot on the Olympic aerials team. Lillis returns to the Olympic Games as the reigning Olympic champion in mixed team aerials with a World Cup podium finish in Ruka, Finland, in men's aerials to his name. Krueger and Curran make their Olympic debut with top five finishes on the World Cup circuit this season.

Like the men, the Chinese women are some of the best aerials skiers in the world. Their ability to consistently land clean full-full-fulls, one of the most difficult tricks in women's aerials, makes them tough to beat. Kong Fanyu joined Xu as a consistent executor of triples this season, finishing behind Xu in the FIS World Cup standings. The 2018 aerials bronze medalist faced disappointment in Beijing with a 6th-place finish and is hoping to redeem herself on Tuesday.

But Xu and Kong aren't the only ones with triples up their sleeve. 

Kaila Kuhn (USA) recently landed her first clean full-full-full of the season to upset Xu in Lake Placid, New York, to win the first World Cup victory of her career. Kuhn is the youngest American to win an individual aerials world title. At 21, it was her first major victory in any senior-level event. She will be looking to improve upon her 8th-place finish in Beijing as she makes a bid for gold. Teammate Winter Vinecki landed her own full-full-full earlier this year to claim her first World Cup win of the season. Vinecki, who finished 2nd in the 2023-24 World Cup standings for women's aerials, missed most of last season due to a herniated disc but opted to let it heal naturally. Although she's still finding her way back to her peak form, she's not one to count out when it matters the most.

Australia's Laura Peel is another consistent challenger to the Chinese. At her best, the Aussie can go jump for jump with Xu and Fang. Her full-full-full in Lac-Beauport, Canada, bested Vinecki and Xu's, earning her a World Cup victory. Her teammate, Danielle Scott, opts for an easier, yet cleaner route. Unlike her competitors, Scott competes with double full-fulls, relying on points earned from cleaner landings rather than from level of difficulty.

Kyra Dossa (USA) and Tasia Tanner (USA) will make their Olympic debut on Tuesday, both achieving top four results on the World Cup stage leading into the Games.