Although snowboarding has been part of the Winter Olympics for less than 30 years, it's been around long enough to produce tons of iconic moments and star athletes. Find out more about the history of this high-flying sport at the Winter Games below.
Snowboarding at the Winter Olympics
When did snowboarding become an Olympic sport?
Snowboarding first debuted on the Olympic program at the 1998 Nagano Winter Games.
How have Olympic snowboarding events changed over the years?
When snowboarding debuted at the 1998 Winter Olympics, there was one freestyle discipline (halfpipe) and one Alpine discipline (giant slalom) on the program.
Halfpipe events look much different nowadays, as the walls of the pipe nearly have doubled in size (from 11.5 feet to 22 feet). After halfpipe quickly became a popular event, two more freestyle disciplines later were added to the program: slopestyle in 2014 and big air in 2018.
The giant slalom event underwent its own transition, as it became a head-to-head competition (parallel giant slalom) starting in 2002. A second Alpine discipline (parallel slalom) was added to the program in 2014 but subsequently was dropped ahead of the next Olympics.
Snowboard cross joined the Olympic program in 2006.
Olympic snowboarding records
Which country has the most medals in Olympic snowboarding history?
The United States has won more gold medals (17) and total medals (35) in Olympic snowboarding than any other country. Switzerland (8 gold, 14 total medals) and Canada (5 gold, 17 total medals) are the next most successful nations.
Which snowboarder holds the record for most Olympic gold medals?
American star Shaun White currently is the only Olympian with three snowboarding gold medals, but several athletes will have the ability to catch (or potentially surpass) him at the Milan Cortina Games.
Which snowboarder holds the record for most total Olympic medals?
Entering the 2026 Winter Olympics, there are currently 11 different snowboarders who have won three medals. Of that bunch, only White, Jamie Anderson, Lindsey Jacobellis and Vic Wild have multiple gold medals as part of their collection.
A new record could be set by the end of the Milan Cortina Games. Keep an eye on Zoi Sadowski-Synnott and Mark McMorris — both athletes have three medals so far and once again will be medal contenders in two separate events.
What other history could be made in snowboarding at the 2026 Winter Olympics?
No snowboarder ever has won three straight gold medals in an Olympic event, but Chloe Kim (women’s halfpipe), Anna Gasser (women’s big air) and Ester Ledecka (women’s parallel giant slalom) all enter Milan Cortina 2026 with a chance to accomplish the feat.
Olympic snowboarding history by year
Beijing 2022
Sixteen years after a devastating mistake cost her a snowboard cross gold medal, Lindsey Jacobellis finally got the Olympic title that had proven elusive. Since her second-place finish at Torino 2006, where she crashed near the end of the course while attempting a method grab, Jacobellis had finished fifth (2010), seventh (2014) and fourth (2018). Not only did she win individual gold in Beijing, the 36-year-old Jacobellis also paired up with 40-year-old Nick Baumgartner to win the Olympic debut of mixed team snowboard cross and even threw in a delightful grab right before the finish line.
In other women’s events, Chloe Kim (halfpipe), Anna Gasser (big air) and Ester Ledecka (parallel giant slalom) all defended their respective titles, while Zoi Sadowski-Synnott, a 20-year-old from New Zealand, delivered a statement performance with slopestyle gold and big air silver.
In his final Olympic appearance, snowboard legend Shaun White finished fourth in men’s halfpipe, as Japanese star Ayumu Hirano finally claimed his first Olympic title. Hirano, who had won silver medals in 2014 and 2018, landed a triple cork in each of his three runs. It was the first time that he, or anyone, ever had landed a triple cork in a full halfpipe run, and ultimately it helped him overtake Scotty James for the win on the final run of the contest.
Max Parrot, who overcame a cancer diagnosis after the 2018 Winter Olympics, provided a feel-good story when he won the men’s slopestyle contest and captured his first Olympic gold medal, but it didn’t come without controversy. The head judge later admitted that the judges missed an error made by Parrot — he grabbed his knee instead of his board on one trick — that would have lowered his score and likely given the win to Su Yiming, a 17-year-old competing for the host nation. Su followed up his slopestyle silver with big air gold, cementing his status as one of snowboarding’s breakout stars of the Beijing Winter Games.
PyeongChang 2018
The U.S. swept the gold medals in halfpipe and slopestyle thanks in part to a pair of 17-year-old Olympic debutants. Red Gerard won a surprise gold in men’s slopestyle, making him the sport’s youngest-ever Olympic champion, as well as Team USA’s first gold-medal winner of the PyeongChang Games. Chloe Kim, who is about two months older than Gerard, lived up to her status as the heavy favorite in women’s halfpipe, landing back-to-back 1080s as part of her winning run.
The United States’ 100th Winter Olympic gold medal fittingly was won by one of the country’s biggest sporting legends: Shaun White. After a fourth-place finish at Sochi 2014, White returned to the top of the podium in men’s halfpipe thanks to a winning run that included back-to-back double cork 1440s. In addition to making history for Team USA, the victory also made him the first snowboarder to win three gold medals at the Winter Olympics. The other American gold medal came from snowboarding veteran Jamie Anderson, who defended her women’s slopestyle title.
Big air made its Olympic debut in PyeongChang, with Austria’s Anna Gasser, who landed a cab double cork 1080, and Canada’s Sebastien Toutant taking home the first-ever titles.
A week after winning super-G gold in Alpine skiing, reigning world parallel giant slalom snowboarding champion Ester Ledecka of Czechia captured that event's Olympic title, too, at the PyeongChang Games. In doing so, she became the first woman (and only the third athlete ever) to win gold medals in two different sports at the same Winter Games.
Sochi 2014
Making its long-awaited Olympic debut, slopestyle didn’t disappoint. In the years right before the Sochi Games, trick progression had led up to the triple cork, and it was expected that a rider would need to have at least one — most likely two — triples in their run to win gold. For that reason, Canadian shredders Mark McMorris and Max Parrot were seen as favorites. But the judges were looking for something else that day, and they found it in Team USA's Sage Kotsenburg. The charismatic 20-year-old, generally overlooked as a medal contender, mixed up his grabs to produce one of the day's most stylish runs. On the final jump, he attempted a backside 1620 Japan grab — a trick he had never even tried before — and landed it. That helped earn him the United States' first gold medal of the Sochi Games and also put the term "spoice" into the American lexicon for at least a few weeks. Jamie Anderson won women's slopestyle the next day to give the U.S. a gold-medal sweep.
While Kotsenburg entered under the radar, Shaun White arrived in Sochi with high expectations for a three-peat in halfpipe. But competing in a pipe that was in less-than-ideal condition, White crashed on Run 1, then couldn't land his new trick — the cab double cork 1440 — cleanly on Run 2 and finished off the podium in fourth. Swiss rider Iouri Podladtchikov, a good friend of White's, was able to execute a clean version of that same trick during his run, propelling himself to a gold medal. In women's halfpipe, 24-year-old U.S. snowboarder Kaitlyn Farrington upset a field that included the past three Olympic champions — Kelly Clark, Hannah Teter, Torah Bright — to win gold. Unfortunately, that would go down as her first and only Olympics. A year later, Farrington was forced to retire after it was discovered that she had a degenerative spine condition.
Alpine snowboarding picked up a second event for the Sochi Games, with parallel slalom joining parallel giant slalom on the program. Although Vic Wild was born in the United States, he switched nationalities and began competing for Russia before the Olympics. Part of the rationale was that he felt he’d receive better opportunities with the Russian team. But there was another reason, too: He had begun dating, and eventually married, Russian snowboarder Alena Zavarzina. Both spouses managed to reach the medal rounds in parallel giant slalom on the same day in Sochi. First, Zavarzina won the women's small final to claim the bronze medal; then, minutes later, Wild took the men's gold medal race. Three days after that, Wild won another gold medal, this time in parallel slalom.
Snowboard cross racer Eva Samkova delighted fans with her pre-race ritual — on race days, she would paint a mustache on her upper lip. In Sochi, her ‘stache was red, white and blue (the colors of the Czech flag), and it proved to be a good-luck charm as she won each race en route to winning her country’s first-ever snowboarding gold medal.
Vancouver 2010
A warm winter had left Cypress Mountain devoid of snow, so to hold the snowboarding events, snow had to be trucked in from northern Canada. But that wasn't the only major operation that took place: In the leadup to the Olympics, rumors spread that a private halfpipe had been built in Colorado exclusively for Shaun White. It was there, in a place only accessible by helicopter, that White secretly dialed in his newest tricks, including the double McTwist 1260, or "Tomahawk." All that training paid off for White, who locked up victory in Vancouver on the strength of his first run in the men's halfpipe final. Able to take a victory lap on his final run, White decided to go for the double McTwist 1260 that was becoming his signature trick. He landed it, capping off his performance with an exclamation point and winning his second straight gold medal. Finland's Peetu Piiroinen and American Scotty Lago took silver and bronze, marking the second straight time Americans had won at least two medals in the event.
Torino 2006
American action-sports icon Shaun White began his sensational Olympic career as a 19-year-old in Torino. Wearing an American flag bandana over his face, White got off to a slow start in the qualifying round but bounced back to earn the highest score. Then in the final, White reeled off consecutive 1080s and a pair of 900s to take a commanding lead. With none of his competitors able to top him in their second runs, White was free to take a victory lap through the pipe. Joining him on the podium was teammate Danny Kass, who won his second straight silver medal. Denying the Americans a second straight medal sweep in the event was Markku Koski of Finland. Mason Aguirre was fourth.
Hannah Teter won the women's halfpipe contest to give the U.S. another 1-2-4 finish and a sweep of both golds for the second year in a row. Gretchen Bleiler took silver and Kjersti Buaas of Norway claimed bronze. Kelly Clark, the 2002 champion, was in third after Run 1 but slipped on her final trick in Run 2 and ended up in fourth.
In the Olympic debut of snowboard cross, it was U.S. racer Lindsey Jacobellis making headlines for a heartbreaking mistake. In the final, the 20-year-old opened an untouchable lead over the rest of the field and had an easy victory in the bag. But with the finish line in sight, Jacobellis opted to entertain the fans in attendance by launching a backside method grab over the second-to-last jump. It didn't go as planned. She crashed and was passed by Switzerland's Tanja Frieden. Jacobellis, who recovered in time to get silver, initially said she performed the move to "create stability," but hours later explained what really happened: "Snowboarding is fun. I was ahead. I wanted to share my enthusiasm with the crowd. I messed up. Oh well, it happens."
The U.S. wouldn't be shut out of gold medals in snowboard cross, though. A day earlier, Seth Wescott — who at the time happened to be dating Frieden — won the men's event by just a half-board length in the final race. He would defend his title four years later at the Vancouver Games.
In men's parallel giant slalom, Philipp and Simon Schoch of Switzerland became just the third set of brothers to go 1-2 at the Winter Olympics in any event, joining American skeleton racers Jennison and John Heaton from the 1928 St. Moritz Games and Alpine slalom skiers Phil and Steve Mahre from the 1984 Sarajevo Games. It was younger brother Philipp's second straight win at the Olympics.
Salt Lake 2002
Park City's snowboarding venue was the most raucous locale during the 2002 Games, with upward of 30,000 fans taking particular delight in the halfpipe competitions. And its pair of contests gave the Americans in attendance plenty to cheer about. In the women's event, Vermont native Kelly Clark, then just 18 years old, overcame injuries to win the host nation's first gold of the Games. During a practice run three days before the final, Clark took a hard fall and suffered a bruised tailbone and a broken wrist. In excruciating pain, she missed practice. But two days later, excitement took over and she managed to edge France's Doriane Vidal for gold in the final.
The next day, the crowd was thrilled when a trio of U.S. snowboarders swept the men's halfpipe podium: 1998 Olympic bronze medalist Ross Powers, Danny Kass and JJ Thomas. Their performances marked the first time since 1956 in men's figure skating that Americans had won all three medals in a Winter Games event.
One of the most inspirational stories came from 29-year-old American Chris Klug, who won bronze in men's parallel giant slalom less than two years after undergoing liver transplant surgery.
Nagano 1998
Snowboarding was included in the Olympic program for the first time in Nagano, Japan, and its first-ever gold medal at the Games went to Canada's Ross Rebagliati for his win in the men's giant slalom. But that distinction initially lasted just a few days. Rebagliati had tested positive for marijuana and was stripped of his medal three days after the triumph. Fortunately, the Court for Arbitration of Sport reinstated his medal the next day.
Little-known Gian Simmen of Switzerland won the men’s halfpipe gold, edging the flamboyant Norwegian Daniel Franck and his leopard-skin hairstyle. In women’s halfpipe, Germany’s Nicola Thost took advantage of a near-fall by American Shannon Dunn to take the gold. Dunn fell to third place behind Norway’s Stine Brun Kjeldaas.
What are the origins of snowboarding?
It all started with the "Snurfer" — essentially, a toy for children invented in 1965. The board had no bindings; instead, the user steered the board by use of a rope attached to the front.
With the Snurfer gaining popularity and attracting a few daredevil participants, the years that followed featured new products building on the Snurfer's concept. In the late 1970s, Jake Burton and Tom Sims separately began to mass-produce their own board prototypes, paving the way for what would become the modern snowboard.
The competition scene began to flourish in the 1980s. One of the first major contests was the National Snowboarding Championships, launched in 1982 by a group of people that included pro Snurfer Paul Graves. The event, which was held in Vermont, soon came under the control of Burton and eventually was renamed the U.S. Open.
While the East Coast riders, led by Burton, were focused on racing, there was more of a freestyle revolution taking place out west. Riders began to shape man-made hits which were based on the design of skateboard ramps known as "halfpipes." In 1983 in California, Sims organized the World Snowboarding Championships, an event which featured the first snowboard halfpipe contest.
As the sport continued to gain national attention, more ski resorts started allowing snowboarders on their slopes. By 1990, snowboarders could go to just about any major resort.
It was also at this time that the first terrain park was built at Bear Mountain in California. Based on the layout of skateboard parks that could be found all over Southern California, the snowboard park incorporated natural terrain and hand-placed obstacles for riders to session. This type of park soon became common at resorts across the country and became the impetus for slopestyle competitions.
Snowboarding was one of the sports represented at the first-ever Winter X Games in 1997. A year later, it made its Olympic debut at the 1998 Nagano Games with halfpipe and giant slalom. Snowboard cross was added to the Olympic program in 2006, slopestyle premiered in 2014, and big air made its Olympic debut in 2018.