After two rounds of qualification, all four American men have advanced into the men's moguls final for a chance to finish on the podium.
Nick Page was the top-scoring American, earning 77.50 points for a 5th-place finish in the first round of qualification. Veteran Dylan Walczyk joined Page as the second American to advance to the final after the first round. Walczyk will be competing for a spot on his first podium in any competition since 2019.
"It's very high stress, high pressure, you're up there in the gate and you feel everything get tight," Page said after his run. "I was just trying to think about my breathing, kind of put a smile on my face and understand the magnitude of the situation, which was really fun. You don't get that pressure very often. So, to be in the position and put down a run was nice.”
Charlie Mickel and Landon Wendler joined their teammates in the final after competing in the second round of qualification, narrowly missing out on the top 10 following Tuesday's qualification. The first-time Olympians placed 3rd and 7th respectively.
All eyes will be on Mikael Kingsbury (CAN) as he attempts to claim his second Olympic gold in this event. "The King" solidified his position as the greatest moguls skier of all time earlier this season after claiming his 100th career World Cup victory, the most of any moguls skier in history. Teammate Julien Viel joins him as a top podium contender.
Japan's Ikuma Horishima will be looking to spoil the Canadian party after topping qualification. The current leader of the FIS World Cup standings has made no secret of his ambition to overthrow Kingsbury as the best in the sport, and he'll attempt the upset in Thursday's final.
“I’m chasing myself, not wins," he said. "That’s the reason I want do this. If someone does a cork 1080, I’d want to do a cork 14. That’s been my spirit since I was a kid. Also, if I do cork 1080, I’d want to make it more. I want to go for the bigger one. That’s also the reason why I sometimes make mistakes. It’s a lot of risk. I need to figure out the risk and what I need to do.”