In so many Winter Olympics events, Europeans dominate. Norwegians, Germans, the Dutch. And at these Games the home team Italians. But not in free ski halfpipe, the event in which skiers do astonishing tricks far above the rim of a steep human-made canyon.

This event has been dominated by North Americans lately, including four contending Americans, who must have been at least thinking about a medals sweep, and a Canadian or two who were trying to get in their way.

The one who impressed the judges the most on Friday in Livigno was Alex Ferreira of the U.S.

In the first run, none of the big names sparkled, and several wound up on their backsides. But only the best of three runs counted, so no one was out yet. In the second run, skiers finally began putting down strong runs. Somewhat surprisingly, a 19-year-old Estonian, Henry Sildaru, took the lead, while Americans Ferreira, Nick Goepper and Birk Irving were positioned second, third and fourth.

That left the final run, where everyone got a last chance to improve. It was Ferreira who delivered with a run that won him the gold medal after Goepper, who suffered a hard crash, and Sildaru could not match him. Ferriera landed two 1600s, one in each direction.

Ferreira, 31, had won a silver in 2018 and a bronze in 2022. This gold completes his set.

Sildaru took the silver medal Friday, and Brendan Mackay of Canada earned bronze.

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This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

By Victor Mather and Gabriela Bhaskar/Gabriela Bhaskar
C. 2026 The New York Times Company