Tormod Frostad claims gold with a 98.50 final run as the Collective sweeps the podium at Milano Cortina 2026. Mac Forehand silver, Matej Svancer bronze in historic final.
Snow fell even harder Tuesday evening than it had all week. The Alps delivered snorkeling conditions to the men's big air final, yet twelve of the world's best freeskiers showed us the greatest big air final ever witnessed.
Norway's Tormod Frostad saved his best for last. After posting 95.25 in run one and 97.00 in run two to hold the lead, he watched from the start gate as Mac Forehand launched a nose butter triple 2160 safety that earned 98.25 and vaulted the American into first place with just one skier left to drop. Viewers around the world felt the electricity coursing through these final moments.
That skier was Frostad.
His final run, a nose butter double bio 1620, earned a competition-high 98.50 and secured Norway's first Olympic gold in men's big air. Combined score: 195.50. Just 2.25 points clearing him into the golden zone.
For Forehand, the silver represents redemption after a difficult slopestyle final earlier in the Games. The 24-year-old Connecticut rider had qualified first and arrived in Livigno carrying momentum from his World Cup season. Across three runs, he showed why he's regarded as one of the best skiers in the world. Two scores of 95.00, followed by that final 98.25; in almost any other final that would have nearly won him gold. Combined score: 193.25.
Austria's Matej Svancer completed an all-Faction podium with bronze, posting 191.25 across his three attempts. His carved hand drag triple 1980 in run two drew gasps from the crowd, and his switch tail butter triple 2160 in run three put an exclamation point on a performance that leaves no doubt that he is the sport’s best creative mind right now.
It must have been an incredible moment to share the final podium moment with his team mates and friends, who have travelled together, shared film screens (Sugar Bowl, Abstract, Roots) and developed a real connection ahead of sharing this moment of a lifetime.
Canada's Dylan Deschamps entered the final as one of the breakout stories of the season. X Games bronze medalist, World Cup podium finisher, the 23-year-old from Quebec City who'd been turning heads all year with his switch triple misty 1620 and the kind of amplitude that makes judges sit up straight.
In his third run, Deschamps sent the biggest triple of the entire night, a trick with rotation and amplitude that would have scored huge. Just a small detail missed in this final was the separation between medals from disappointment, and that small detail – a grab – cost him the podium. Final placement: 7th, with a combined score of 137.50.
Seventh at your first Olympics, in what was the deepest big air final in history, where a swathe of the field was worthy of gold, is something to feel immensely proud of. Deschamps skied with the kind of fearlessness that is his approach to the sport. His ambition and his drive to visibly leave every inch of himself out on the field last night was a sight to see; it is an absolute honor to watch you ski, Dylan.
The sheer depth of talent excelling in less-than-ideal conditions was staggering.
Konnor Ralph landed his first-ever competitive triple 2160 and finished fifth. Troy Podmilsak finished fourth despite stomping massive tricks across all three runs. Defending Olympic champion Birk Ruud, who had won slopestyle gold earlier in the Games, finished eighth after going down on his final attempt.
Six athletes scored above 90 points in run one alone. By the end of the night, nearly every competitor had landed tricks that would have won gold at previous Olympics. Triple 1980s were baseline. Triple 2160s were being thrown. Tormod's butter tricks stood out not because they were simpler, rather they were executed with a level of style and technical precision that reminded everyone that rotation count isn't everything. Style remains a crucial part of a successful freeskiing performance.
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