Led by slopestyle-turned-halfpipe skier Nick Goepper, the U.S. put itself in position for a possible podium sweep Friday after taking four of the top six spots in men's freeski halfpipe qualifying at the Milan Cortina Games in Italy. Favorite Fin Melville Ives missed out after crashing on both runs, including a heavy fall that required medical attention on Run 2.
Goepper, 31, linked three straight double corks — including two 1260s — on Run 1 to score 90.00 and qualify No. 2, while his teammates placed 4th though 6th: two-time Olympic medalist Alex Ferreira (2018 silver, 2022 bronze) with 85.75, Hunter Hess with 85.00 and Birk Irving with 84.25.
New Zealander Melville Ives, the reigning world champion and winner of last month's Winter X Games, crashed on his first run after his ski came off mid air. On his second run, again on the third hit, the 19-year-old went down hard, this time falling forward hard and hitting his head.
Medical staff attended to Melville Ives for about six minutes before tobogganing him off. NBC's broadcast later reported he was conscious and with family, in stable and positive condition. On the national team's live blog, Team New Zealand offered its best wishes to Melville Ives, writing, "All our support to Fin as he’s checked over after a heavy crash on his second run." Ferriera could be seen hugging the remaining Kiwi competitors.
Brendan Mackay, world champion in 2023, was one of three Canadians to make it through, recording the contest's top score of 92.75 with four straight double corks ranging from a switch 900 to a regular 1620. Estonia's Henry Sildaru, 19-year-old younger brother to Beijing slopestyle bronze medalist Kelly, ranked 3rd with an 88.00. Great Britain's Sochi slopestyle silver medalist Gus Kenworthy took 9th with an 81.25, while Ben Harrington — older brother of Luca, who won silver in slopestyle — secured the final qualifying spot in 12th with a 75.25.
“[Fin], if you’re listening, that one was for you brother," Ben Harrington said. "Putting you and New Zealand on my back.”
Melville Ives sought to follow in the footsteps of compatriot Nico Porteous, who claimed 2018 PyeongChang bronze at 16 then Olympic halfpipe gold at the 2022 Beijing Games before retiring in 2025. His twin brother Cam Melville Ives placed 12th in last week's snowboard halfpipe final.
"I'm honestly devastated for him because I think Fin is the best pipe skier in the world right now, period," Kenworthy said. "It's a shame to see him go down and to miss out on the finals. I'm just hoping that he's OK and that it's nothing too serious."
The U.S. has earned at least one medal at every Olympic edition of the event — gold in 2014, gold and silver in 2018, and silver and bronze in 2022. David Wise was part of all three hauls (back-to-back Sochi and PyeongChang golds, plus Beijing silver) but did not qualify for these Games.
Qualifying was originally scheduled for Thursday but was postponed to Friday due to weather. The final is set for Friday night in Italy (1:30 p.m. ET). You can watch it live on Peacock and NBCOlympics.com.
Men's Freeski Halfpipe Qualifiers
- Brandon Mackay, Canada (92.75)
- Nick Goepper, United States (90.00)
- Henry Sildaru, Estonia (88.00)
- Alex Ferreira, United States (85.75)
- Hunter Hess, United States (85.00)
- Birk Irving, United States (84.25)
- Andrew Longino, Canada (83.50)
- Dylan Marineau, Canada (85.25)
- Gus Kenworthy, Great Britain (81.25)
- Lee Seung-Hun, South Korea (76.00)
- Benjamin Lynch, Ireland (75.75)
- Ben Harrington, New Zealand (75.25)