frostad’s moment
Tormod Frostad entered the men's big air final in fourth position after qualifications, having posted the highest single-run score of the round with a 96.25. The 23-year-old Norwegian had shown flashes of brilliance throughout the season, and segments of the community had a feeling what he was about to pull off last night.
Tuesday evening in Livigno, he threw it all down.
Run one: nose butter double bio 1440. Clean execution, perfect grab, 95.25. Early lead.
Run two: switch tail butter double bio 1620. Bigger amplitude, same precision. 97.00. Still leading.
Run three changed everything. Mac Forehand had just posted 98.25 on the penultimate run, moving into first place and leaving Frostad with one final attempt to reclaim gold. The pressure was total. One run to determine whether he'd leave Livigno as an Olympic champion or silver medalist.
Frostad dropped in. Nose butter double bio 1620. The grab held. The landing stuck. The score: 98.50.
Audiences left stunned by the sheer saturation of talent, consistency and sport-changing performance from everyone in this final. In this huge moment, Tormod walks away with Gold.
fired up
Frostad's Milano Cortina story began with disappointment. In the slopestyle final earlier in the Games, he had qualified second with 79.96 points and genuine medal potential. The final didn't deliver. Errors across all three runs left him well outside podium contention. For some, that could unseat their confidence for a long time.
It took him less than a week to bounce back.
The butter tricks that define Frostad's style aren't just aesthetic choices. They're technically demanding, requiring precise timing and body awareness that most skiers never develop. In a final where competitors were throwing triple 1980s and 2160s, Frostad's approach stood out for its creativity and execution. The judges rewarded it accordingly.
Alongside his compatriate Birk Ruud, Frostad has his own Olympic title, at 23.
deschamps’ introduction
Dylan Deschamps arrived at Milano Cortina 2026 with momentum. X Games bronze medalist. World Cup podium finisher. The 23-year-old from Quebec City who'd been building a reputation for throwing tricks nobody else had dialed.
Run three was the moment that defined his Olympics. Rather than play it safe, Deschamps sent the biggest triple of the entire night. The rotation was there. The amplitude was absurd. The grab wasn't. In a final where execution separated medals from disappointment, that detail cost him the podium.
Final placement: 7th. Combined score: 137.50.
The result doesn't tell the full story. Deschamps skied with the kind of fearlessness that wins competitions when everything connects. On this night, it didn't. That's the reality of big air at the Olympic level.
What matters more is trajectory. First Olympics at 23. Seventh place in the deepest big air final in history. The willingness to risk everything on the final run rather than settle for a safe score.
