Future spin: a trick with a degree of rotation that’s higher than the current year.

Freeskiing already “spun into the future,” as the saying goes, back in 2022 when the first 2160 was landed during a competition. But this so-called time travel has only accelerated since then.

In the year 2025, we witnessed the first 2340 — just one indicator of the sport’s continued progression since the last Winter Olympics. Some familiar names have been at the forefront of that progression, but there’s been a few new ones, too.

Below is a deep dive into the biggest developments, new names to know and more for each freeski park and pipe event at the 2026 Milan Cortina Games.

Nick Goepper's switch from slopestyle to halfpipe is already paying dividends.

U.S. Ski and Snowboard/@briecoops

What are the major storylines?

The United States, once again set to field a strong halfpipe team at the Winter Games, boasts two of the leading contenders for gold. Both names should be familiar to Olympic fans, but for different reasons.

First up is Alex Ferreira. The 31-year-old already owns silver and bronze medals but is seeking a gold to complete his collection. After a perfect 2023-24 season — he won all seven contests he entered — Ferreira briefly positioned himself as the heavy favorite for Milan Cortina.

Then there’s Nick Goepper, the former slopestyle skier who won medals at each of the last three Olympics. Since pivoting to halfpipe ahead of the 2023-24 season (after a brief retirement), Goepper has steadily improved and has now emerged as a legitimate rival to Ferreira, a fact cemented by his win at X Games last year.

Beyond those two, the U.S. team is deep. Of the top 10 skiers in last season’s World Cup standings, seven were American. Only four could be named to the roster for the Milan Cortina Games, though, and it will be 2023 World Cup champion Birk Irving and two-time X Games medalist Hunter Hess joining them in Livigno.

The Americans' biggest challenge for gold will come from Fin Melville Ives, a newcomer who has taken the scene by storm over these past two seasons. The New Zealander won gold at the 2025 World Championships and 2026 X Games, and was joined on the podium by Goepper and Ferreira at both events.

For now, double cork 1620s remain the must-have trick for halfpipe skiers, but Ferreira has already attempted to push the sport’s progression with a double cork 1800 attempt. Goepper has incorporated a unique trick, a switch right bio 900, into his contest runs and has a bigger version of that trick that he wants to add to his runs this season.

Who’s in and who’s out?

Men’s freeski halfpipe will have a new Olympic champion, as Nico Porteous has stepped away from halfpipe competition. The 23-year-old from New Zealand started racking up accolades from a young age — he won Olympic bronze in 2018 and gold in 2022, in addition to X Games and world titles. Porteous competed sparingly in the years following the Beijing Games before officially announcing his career shift in June. He plans to stay active in skiing in other ways.

The man who won back-to-back Olympic titles before Porteous, David Wise, is still active on the contest circuit but did not qualify for the U.S. Olympic team after what ended up being an extremely competitive series of selection events.

Meanwhile, Gus Kenworthy came out of retirement and qualified for a fourth Winter Olympics. The 34-year-old won a silver medal in slopestyle for the U.S. at the 2014 Sochi Games before he started competing for Great Britain, focusing exclusively on halfpipe ahead of Beijing 2022. Kenworthy hadn’t entered a contest since the last Olympics but returned to the circuit in December.

Who are some of the new stars?

• Fin Melville Ives (NZL): Fresh off last year's breakout season, the 19-year-old's continued success has him locked in as a bona fide gold-medal contender in Livigno. His twin brother, Cam Melville Ives, competes in snowboard halfpipe.
• Luke Harrold (NZL): Although Porteous has retired, New Zealand continues to have a bright future in halfpipe skiing thanks to Melville Ives and 17-year-old Harrold. Since earning his first World Cup podium two seasons ago, Harrold has continued to impress with an arsenal of highly technical tricks.
• Hunter Hess (USA): Hess made his World Cup debut back in 2015 but has not yet competed at the Olympics. With strong results in this current cycle — he finished third at X Games in back-to-back years and was the World Cup runner-up for the 2023-24 season — he's set to be a factor in his Winter Games debut. During a training session five years ago, Hess became the first skier to land a triple cork in a halfpipe. No skier has landed that trick in a contest yet.

Eileen Gu has been nearly unbeatable in the halfpipe since the last Winter Olympics.

FIS

What are the major storylines?

After winning medals in all three freeski disciplines at the last Winter Olympics, Eileen Gu has competed primarily in halfpipe contests over the last few years. She’s been nearly unbeatable in this event, winning 10 of the 11 World Cup events she’s entered since the last Olympics, in addition to taking X Games gold in 2024. The only skier to beat Gu during that time has been Canada’s Amy Fraser.

The only thing slowing Gu down has been injuries. She’s had to withdraw from most X Games events over the past several years, with her 2024 halfpipe gold coming despite “an unprecedented level of pain” due to a hip injury.

Gu’s biggest challenger at the moment is reigning world champion Zoe Atkin of Great Britain, who shared last season's World Cup title with China’s Li Fanghui.

There’s also 2018 Olympic champion (and 2022 silver medalist) Cassie Sharpe, who returned to competition last winter after a two-season hiatus. The Canadian star considered retirement after giving birth to her first child in August 2023 before ultimately deciding to make a comeback. In January 2025, she won her first X Games title in six years, proving she’s back in the mix ahead of Milan Cortina.

Who’s in and who’s out?

Two stalwarts of the U.S. team have called it quits after long, accomplished careers. Devin Logan, the 2014 slopestyle silver medalist who also competed in halfpipe, and Brita Sigourney, the 2018 halfpipe bronze medalist, both retired from competitive skiing after three Winter Olympic appearances apiece.

Who are some of the new stars?

• Indra Brown (AUS): This season's breakout star has undoubtedly been Brown, a rookie who didn't even turn 16 until a week before the Opening Ceremony. In four World Cup appearances, she hasn't finished lower than 4th. She won the Calgary Snow Rodeo, earned a silver medal at X Games, and currently holds the World Cup points lead.
• Svea Irving (USA): The 23-year-old was the top American on the World Cup circuit last season and won a bronze medal at the 2023 X Games. Her brother, Birk Irving, competes in men’s freeski halfpipe and finished 5th at the last Olympics.
• Riley Jacobs (USA): Jacobs, 22, was the top American during the 2023-24 World Cup season with a 4th-place overall finish. She missed the majority of last season with a torn ACL but returned this season in time to qualify for the Olympic team.

Team USA's Troy Podmilsak, who was just 18 at the time, captured the men's freeski big air world title in 2023.

FIS/Miha Matavz

What are the major storylines?

Men’s slopestyle and big air have arguably been the two most wide-open events on the freeski park and pipe program.

Over the last three seasons, the World Cup circuit has had three different slopestyle champions (Birk Ruud, Mac Forehand, Alex Hall) and three different big air champions (Birk Ruud, Alex Hall, Luca Harrington).

Similarly, X Games has had three different slopestyle champions (Colby Stevenson, Birk Ruud, Luca Harrington) and three different big air champions (Mac Forehand, Troy Podmilsak, Miro Tabanelli) during that time.

That list doesn’t even include Andri Ragettli, who has finished in the top three of the World Cup standings in 10 of the last 11 seasons, or Matej Svancer, who won World Cup contests in both slopestyle and big air last season.

Meanwhile, the sport has been progressing to new levels, particularly in big air. In 2023, Podmilsak became the first skier to land a triple cork 2160. A year later, Ruud landed a switch version of that trick. Then came the first-ever 2340, which was landed by Tabanelli at the 2025 X Games.

Who’s in and who’s out?

The U.S., which swept the men’s slopestyle podium in 2014, remains one of the strongest countries in these events, but one skier who was part of that podium sweep — Nick Goepper — won't be competing in these events. As mentioned in a previous section, the three-time Olympic slopestyle medalist switched to halfpipe during this cycle. 

Given the depth of the U.S. team, the Olympic selection process was very competitive. Colby Stevenson, the 2022 Olympic big air silver medalist, didn't make the Olympic team for Milan Cortina, with 22-year-old Konnor Ralph instead grabbing the final spot on the team.

Swedish star Henrik Harlaut, the 2022 Olympic big air bronze medalist, went more than three years without competing in any World Cup events after the Beijing Games, though he did compete at X Games a few times. After missing last season while recovering from a dislocated hip, the 34-year-old returned to the contest circuit this season. Although his results so far haven't been strong, Harlaut was ultimately named to Sweden's Olympic team for the fourth time.

Who are some of the new stars?

• Luca Harrington (NZL): On the heels of a breakout season, this 21-year-old has quickly established himself as a medal threat in both disciplines. He’ll enter these Winter Olympics as the reigning world champion in big air, as well as the back-to-back X Games champion in slopestyle. His brother, Ben Harrington, is on New Zealand's halfpipe team.
• Troy Podmilsak (USA): Podmilsak, 21, was the first skier to land a triple cork 2160, and that trick helped him win big air gold at the 2023 World Championships and 2024 X Games. He quickly locked up a spot on his first U.S. Olympic team by winning a pair of big air World Cup contests earlier this season.
• Miro Tabanelli (ITA): One of the host nation’s top medal hopes for the Milan Cortina Games, Tabanelli won his first X Games title last year when he became the first skier to land a 2340 in a contest. His younger sister, Flora Tabanelli, is the reigning world champion in women’s freeski big air.
• Henry Sildaru (EST): It’s rare for an athlete to compete in all three freeski events at a single Winter Olympics, but this 19-year-old Estonian will add his name to that list. Sildaru competes in all three disciplines, but it's slopestyle where he finally cracked a World Cup podium this season. His older sister is Kelly Sildaru, the prodigious freeski talent who earned bronze in women’s slopestyle at the last Olympics.

Italy's Flora Tabanelli won a gold medal in big air at the 2025 World Championships as part of her breakout season.

FIS/Miha Matavz

What are the major storylines?

Triple corks have arrived in women’s freeskiing. At the 2023 X Games, Canada’s Megan Oldham, who was 21 at the time, became the first woman to land the trick in a contest.

No other woman skier has matched Oldham’s feat yet, but with the Olympics on the horizon, could that change?

Oldham landed the triple cork in the X Games big air event — she ended up winning gold — but she’s been strong in slopestyle as well and could contend for a medal in either event.

Reigning Olympic slopestyle champion Mathilde Gremaud of Switzerland won back-to-back world titles in that discipline in 2023 and 2025.

One of the biggest risers during this Olympic cycle has been Italian teenager Flora Tabanelli, who burst onto the scene and swept just about every major big air title on offer last season. Tabanelli tore her ACL in November but avoided surgery and was named to Italy's Olympic team. 

The favorite in both events, though, is still Eileen Gu. She's predominantly competed in halfpipe events during this Olympic cycle but has had success in her limited slopestyle starts, winning two of the four World Cup events she's entered in the last four years. Despite winning a gold medal in big air at the last Olympics, she has not competed in that discipline since then.

Who’s in and who’s out?

It’s been a lengthy road to recovery for American Marin Hamill since tearing her ACL and meniscus at the Beijing Games. A second surgery and subsequent complications resulted in Hamill missing two full seasons before finally returning to competition last winter. She finished 6th overall in the last season's slopestyle World Cup standings and earned a World Cup podium in January en route to making her first Olympic team.

France’s Tess Ledeux won back-to-back X Games slopestyle titles in 2024 and 2025, in addition to winning big air gold at the 2023 World Championships and 2024 X Games. But a concussion sustained last March has had lingering effects, and she opted to withdraw from Olympic consideration this season.

Another freeskier who won’t be competing at the Milan Cortina Games is seven-time X Games medalist Johanne Killi. The Norwegian star finally won her first slopestyle World Cup title in 2023 before announcing her retirement from competition.

Who are some of the new stars?

• Flora Tabanelli (ITA): A meteoric ascent had Tabanelli, 18, poised to be one of the biggest stars for the Olympic host nation. She won World Cup events in both slopestyle and big air last season en route to capturing the overall park and pipe title, and also won big air gold at the world championships and at X Games. Her medal prospects are unclear due to a recent ACL tear, but she's still set to compete in Livigno. Her brother, Miro Tabanelli, is a medal contender in men’s freeski big air.
• Rell Harwood (USA): The 24-year-old was the top American in both slopestyle and big air last season, as she earned her first two World Cup podiums and finished 4th in the slopestyle standings. Unfortunately, Harwood’s breakout season ended with a torn ACL (the second one her of her career), but she returned to competition this season and nabbed a spot on the U.S. Olympic team.
• Avery Krumme (USA): Krumme, 17, has had a string of solid finishes in her first season on the World Cup circuit. Born in Canada, she switched nationalities over the summer so that she could compete for the U.S.
• Kirsty Muir (GBR): Muir, 21, competed at the last Olympics but has taken a big step forward since then. On the World Cup circuit, she's scored victories in both slopestyle and big air this season. At X Games in January, she earned gold in slopestyle and silver in big air.
• Naomi Urness (CAN): 21-year-old Urness is in the middle of her first full season on the contest circuit. In World Cup competition, she's finished on the podium in all three of this season's big air events and currently leads the overall standings. At X Games, she finished 2nd behind Muir in women's slopestyle.

Learn about the biggest developments in other events ahead of the 2026 Winter Olympics.