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Gold medallist USA's Alex Ferreira celebrates with the US flag after the freestyle skiing men's freeski halfpipe final during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games at Livigno Snow Park, in Livigno (Valtellina), on Feb. 20, 2026. Jeff Pachoud/AFP via Getty Images
American freeskier Alex Ferreira is officially at the top of the podium, after winning Olympic gold during the men’s halfpipe final at the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Games.
After two previous Winter Olympics appearances where he won the silver and bronze medals, Ferreira delivered a near-flawless final run on Feb. 20, scoring 93.75 points.
The feat marks the Aspen, Colorado, native’s 15th season competing on the pro circuit in freeski halfpipe, adding to his already impressive list of accolades that include three World Cup halfpipe titles and three X Games gold medals.
“When you’re younger and coming up in your career, there’s so many different things going on that you’re not able to think about just winning,” he told NBC in an interview ahead of the games.
“Now that I’ve been in, I don’t even know how many contests in my life, I can actually focus on just trying to win. And now that I have the previous results to back that framework up, I think it’s easier to believe in myself and to do that.”
His international competitors, 19-year-old Henry Sildaru from Estonia and Canadian Brendan Mackay, secured the silver medal with 93.00 points and the bronze with 91.00 points, respectively.
Ferreira’s USA teammate, Nick Goepper, finished in 4th place with a score of 89.00, but came up short following the last run of the 11-man final. Goepper was itching for his fourth Olympic medal.
In 2018, Ferreira won silver in Pyeongchang and bronze in the 2022 Olympics in Beijing. At age 31, he is considered a veteran in the sport but was showing no signs of slowing down.
“You do start to feel it a little bit more [at this age],” he told NBC. “You feel the soreness, and it’s a little harder to get out of bed, and it’s a little harder to put the left sock on, whatever it is.”
“But as I’ve gotten older, I’ve only ramped up, and now we’re pretty much in one of the final chapters, so might as well just go all-in.”
In the men’s freeski halfpipe competition, athletes perform aerial acrobatic tricks like spins, flips, and grabs, as they launch off the sides of the pipe that measures 23.6 feet high.
Over the years, the United States has earned at least one medal at every Olympic edition of the event, including the gold medal secured by American David Wise during the 2014 games in Sochi, Russia.
Elma Aksalic is a freelance entertainment reporter for The Epoch Times and an experienced TV news anchor and journalist covering original content for Newsmax magazine.
