Men's moguls competition is officially underway at Livigno Aerials & Moguls Snow Park, with Japan's Ikuma Horishima topping qualifying as the only skier to break 80 points on Tuesday morning.
The leader of the FIS World Cup standings opted for a higher level of difficulty, landing a double full and cork 10 for 85.42 points.
Julien Viel (CAN) completed a back full on his way to placing 2nd in this first round of qualifications. The 24-year-old is coming into his first Olympic Games off of his first World Cup victory in dual moguls in Val St. Come, Canada.
Teammate Mikael Kingsbury took to the slopes in his fourth Olympic Games as he kicked off his campaign for a second Olympic gold. Wearing bib No. 6, "The King" earned 79.11 points after landing a single full for third place, choosing to play it safe to prioritize speed over technique. Despite competing sparingly this season, Kingsbury made history in Val St. Come, Canada, after recording his 100th career World Cup victory, the most of any moguls skier in history.
Four-time Olympian Ben Cavet (FRA) completed a back full on his way to 78 points. With 30 World Cup podiums across both moguls disciplines, Cavet finds himself back in familiar territory after struggles this season.
American Nick Page earned 77.50 points to round out the top five. The two-time Olympian felt good after his training runs, and it showed in his navigation of the course. Page wore a helmet with a Captain America design as a tribute to "Little Nick."
"The art on my helmet this week honors the kid who was never scared to dream too big, and to remind me of where it all started," Page said in an X post. "If you had told “Little Nick” he’d be skiing in his 2nd Olympics someday, I think he’d be pretty excited."
Defending Olympic gold medalist Walter Wallberg (SWE) placed 6th after landing a back full, building his speed halfway through the course with a nose grab on his cork 720. The Swede is on his way back from an injury last season, determined to duplicate his success in Beijing.
Dylan Walczyk's experience was on display as the second American to advance to Wednesday's final. With 138 World Cup starts and more than 50 FIS World Cup top-10 finishes, Walczyk is hoping to make his first podium in all competitions since 2019.
Thibaud Mouille (FRA), Pavel Kolmakov (KAZ) and Matt Graham (AUS) rounded out the top 10 and will advance directly to the moguls final on Wednesday.
Americans Landon Wendler and Charlie Mickel fell just outside of the top 10, landing cork 7s with a tail grab to score just over 75 points.
Skiers will have a second chance to qualify for the finals on Feb. 12.