American freeskier Troy Podmilsak is on the verge of qualifying for his first Olympic team, thanks to a victory in the first big air competition of the 2025-26 World Cup season.

Secret Garden Resort in China hosted big air events in freeskiing and snowboarding over the weekend. Although the event provided a chance for athletes in both sports to earn points toward the quota allocation list for the upcoming Winter Olympics, it held extra significance for members of the U.S. freeski team due to its status as an Olympic selection event.

Podmilsak, the 2023 world champion and 2024 X Games champion, capitalized on the opportunity. The only skier to even attempt a 2160 in the final, the 21-year-old known as “T-Pod” landed a triple cork 2160 with a mute grab on Run 2 to earn the highest single-run score of the day. Combined with his switch triple cork 1980 from Run 1, he finished seven points clear of the rest of the field to claim the win.

Although he’s won other marquee events, this is Podmilsak’s first career World Cup victory. His only other World Cup podium came during the 2022-23 season, a season when he finished 2nd overall in the big air standings.

“I felt like I started [my career] off hot, and then last year was a pretty tough season for me [with] no podiums,” Podmilsak said afterward, “so it feels nice to come out on top on the first World Cup.”

Canada’s Dylan Deschamps took 2nd place, and reigning world champion Luca Harrington of New Zealand rounded out the podium.

The other American in the final, Mac Forehand, finished in 4th place. Forehand put a huge score on the board in Run 1 with his switch triple cork 1980, but his second trick — a nose butter double cork 1980 with a stalefish grab — didn’t score high enough on either attempt to get him onto the podium.

With Alex Hall already named to the Olympic team, three spots remain up for grabs on the U.S. freeski slopestyle and big air roster for Milan Cortina 2026. The selection process is multi-tiered, but the first spots will be automatically filled by athletes with the best individual result at one of the selection events.

By winning one of the selection events, Podmilsak is in a great position to make the Olympic team, though he can’t mathematically clinch his spot until later this season. Forehand’s 4th-place finish is a strong result that keeps him firmly in the conversation as well.

“It definitely takes off a lot of pressure for me," Podmilsak said. "I think the U.S. team is the strongest team right now and for sure the hardest to qualify [for], so a lot of pressure off coming into the next qualifiers.”

Great Britain’s Kirsty Muir, who landed a double cork 1440 on her first run, won the women’s freeski event for her first big air World Cup victory. She earned her first slopestyle win last season.

In snowboarding, reigning Olympic champion Su Yiming and compatriot Ge Chunyu gave China a 1-2 finish in front of a home crowd in the men's event, and Mari Fukada led a Japanese podium sweep in the women's event.

The World Cup circuit will stay in China for another week. The iconic Shougang Park jump, which was built for the 2022 Beijing Olympics, is set to host the next round of big air contests in snowboarding and freeskiing from Dec. 4-6.

Men's Freeski Big Air

1. Troy Podmilsak (USA), 185.50
2. Dylan Deschamps (CAN), 178.50
3. Luca Harrington (NZL), 176.00
4. Mac Forehand (USA), 169.50
5. Vebjoern Graaberg (NOR), 168.75
6. Lucas Ball (NZL), 168.25
7. Alexander Henderson (CAN), 151.00
8. Tormod Frostad (NOR), 132.50
9. Max Moffatt (CAN), 112.75
10. Matias Roche (FRA), 76.50

Women's Freeski Big Air

1. Kirsty Muir (GRB), 174.50
2. Naomi Urness (CAN), 165.75
3. Liu Mengting (CHN), 165.25
4. Anni Karava (FIN), 163.25
5. Giulia Tanno (SUI), 157.25
6. Daisy Thomas (AUS), 115.50
7. Sylvia Trotter (NZL), 90.50
8. Sarah Hoefflin (SUI), 8.75

Men's Snowboard Big Air

1. Su Yiming (CHN), 174.50
2. Ge Chunyu (CHN), 159.50
3. Ryoma Kimata (JPN), 158.50
4. Eli Bouchard (CAN), 153.75
5. Brooklyn DePriest (USA), 152.25
6. Judd Henkes (USA), 141.25
7. Yuto Miyamura (JPN), 113.25
8. Taiga Hasegawa (JPN), 107.75
9. Kira Kimura (JPN), 83.50
10. Nicolas Laframboise (CAN), DNS

Women's Snowboard Big Air

1. Mari Fukada (JPN), 156.75
2. Reira Iwabuchi (JPN), 145.75
3. Miyabi Onitsuka (JPN), 141.50
4. Tess Coady (AUS), 134.50
5. Mela Stalker (AUS),  114.50
6. Kokomo Murase (JPN), 99.50
7. Ally Hickman (AUS), 79.25
8. Lily Dhawornvej (USA), 30.00