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= MILAN CORTINA 2026 =
From Lane One
There is a certain rhythm to the modern Olympic Games, especially as reported in the run-up. There are always crises, calls to move the Games elsewhere, or cancel them. Costs are an issue and for the Milan Cortina organizers, real questions about the bobsled, luge and skeleton track that finally did get built on time, and the privately-finance Santagiulia ice hockey arena, which also was finished enough to hold the men’s and women’s tournaments in substantial style (see the between-period imagery on the ice above).
But on Tuesday, the Milan Cortina 2026 organizers announced that they sold 55,000 tickets Monday and had met their goal – branded unattainable by some – of 1.3 million tickets sold, with close-to-capacity attendance at many sports and huge crowds in the mountain venues.
That’s a success, powered in part by the enormous success of the Italian team, which is shattering all records for medals. Their prior best was 20 from 1994 in Lillehammer (NOR), with seven golds. Already, the Azzurri have 24 medals and nine golds (9-4-11) and still have five days remaining. It’s worth noting that at their last home Winter Games – Turin 2006 – the Italians won just 11 medals (5-0-6). They did something right this time.
Our correspondent in Italy, Karen Rosen, noted, ”Even the people on the metro who are not attending the Games know that their country is doing well.”
So is the organizing committee, which still has a third of the Games to go, and then the Winter Paralympic Games in March. But there are a lot of happy people at the venues and one of the big “problems” has been that souvenirs of the mascots Tina and Milo and the Flos have repeatedly sold out.
There are also some angry people, for whom nothing is ever right and nothing ever will be right. They will have their day soon, after the Games have passed, as seen in France only months following the close of the Paris Games. But that did not detract from the greatness of that Olympic edition.
As for the U.S. team, at 232 members the largest at this Games, it crossed the 20-medal level (21 so far) for the seventh straight time after having never won more than 13 in any Winter Games through 1998. There are more opportunities coming, such as Mikaela Shiffrin in the women’s Slalom, both the men’s and women’s hockey teams, Alysa Liu in women’s Figure Skating and more from phenom Jordan Stolz in speed skating (he has two events left).
The best-ever U.S. gold-medal performance is 10, at the 2002 Salt Lake City Games, and the American team is at six now and could get a new record in the remaining five days. Interestingly, Team USA has won nine gold in the succeeding five Winter Games.
But there is a sense that the U.S. has under-performed with gold-medal misses from Lindsey Vonn (a crash), from Shiffrin in the Team Combined, Chloe Kim (silver), Ilia Malinin (falls) and Madison Chock and Evan Bates (silver) in figure skating and so on.
If, however, it’s true that it is how you finish that counts, U.S. fans will be feeling better by the end of the Games on Sunday.
~ Rich Perelman
● Il Tempo Olimpici ● Cloudy weather in Milan on Wednesday, with a high of 53 F n a low of 37 F; rain is expected on Thursday.
Cortina is forecast for cold temperatures at 26 F, but with clouds and no snow, which impacted Monday’s events. The low is expected to be at 11 F and with light winds of 3 miles per hour. More snow is expected Thursday.
● Scoreboard ● Norway has passed the 30-medal mark and is pulling away – as expected – through 12 days on the medal table:
● 31: Norway (14-8-9)
● 24: Italy (9-4-11)
● 21: United States (6-10-5)
● 20: Germany (5-8-7)
● 19: Japan (4-5-10)
● 17: Austria
● 16: France
● 13: Netherlands
● 12: Sweden
● 12: Canada
A better indication of team performance has to go beyond three places, so The Sports Examiner returns our eight-place scoring, using the NCAA track & field format of 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 to score each event. After 12 days, the top 12:
● 378.5: Norway
● 299.5: Italy
● 280.5: United States
● 234: Germany
● 226.5: Austria
● 223.5: France
● 187.5: Japan
● 169: Canada
● 157: Netherlands
● 139.5: Switzerland
● 134: Sweden
● 99: China
In terms of place winners from 1-8, Norway continues to lead with 68, then 60 for the U.S., 59 for Italy and 50 for Austria. To say this has been a great Winter Games for Italy is an enormous understatement; it’s their best ever.
● Television ● French-language Radio Television Suisse bobsled announcer Stefan Renna launched into a lengthy criticism of the Israeli two-man bobsled team and driver Adam Edelman during his run on Monday, citing his support of the Israel Defense Forces in its response to the Hamas invasion on 7 October 2023 that killed more than 1,200.
Renna further questioned why Edelman is competing while Russians supporting their war against Ukraine are not, and more.
RTS has deleted the segment from its web site and told Reuters:
“Our journalist wished to question the IOC’s policy regarding the statements made by the athlete concerned. However, although factual, such information may have appeared inappropriate due to its length within the context of a sports commentary. For this reason, we removed the segment from our website last night.”
Edelman replied on X:
“I am aware of the diatribe the commentator directed towards the Israeli Bobsled Team on the Swiss Olympics broadcast today.
“I can’t help but notice the contrast: Shul Runnings is a team of 6 proud Israelis who’ve made it to the Olympic stage. No coach with us. No big program. Just a dream, grit, and unyielding pride in who we represent. Working together towards an incredible goal and crushing it. Because that’s what Israelis do.
“I don’t think it’s possible to witness that and give any credence to the commentary.”
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee also commented on X:
“Beyond disgusting that the Jew-hating Swiss ‘sportscaster’ spewed bigotry & bile at @Israel Olympic Bobsled team & its captain @realajedelman as they competed.”
So much for Swiss neutrality.
● Olympic Winter Games 2028: Los Angeles ● In a CNN interview, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass changed her position and said that LA28 Chair Casey Wasserman should resign. She had previously said the matter was up to the LA28 Board, which has determined he should continue. But now:
“I cannot fire him, but I have an opinion. And my opinion is that he should step down. That’s not the opinion of the [LA28] Board.
“The Board made a decision. I think that decision was unfortunate. I don’t support the decision. I do think that we need to look at the leadership.”
Wasserman said in a statement when his name surfaced in a U.S. Justice Department dump of three million pages of documents related to the Jeffrey Epstein case, including some personal e-mails with convicted child-sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell (GBR), “I never had a personal or business relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. As is well documented, I went on a humanitarian trip as part of a delegation with the Clinton Foundation in 2002 on the Epstein plane. I am terribly sorry for having any association with either of them.”
Asked about this on Tuesday, International Olympic Committee spokesman Mark Adams (GBR) stated, “This is a matter for their board, LA28, at this stage,” but noted that “there are many conversations happening at this moment, but I will not make any further comment.”
● Figure Skating ● A happy story from Milan, where ice dancers Olivia Smart (ESP) and American Jean-Luc Baker – a four-time U.S. nationals bronze medalist – got engaged on the streets of the city on Saturday (14th).
Smart and Tim Dieck finished ninth at the 2026 Ice Dance on the 11th and Baker proposed three days later. Baker said they had been close friends for more than 10 years.
● Memorabilia ● Just a couple of days left in the RR Auction winter Olympic sale, with first bids closing on Thursday (19th) at 7 p.m. Eastern time. Thus far, the unique Moscow 1980 “Stadium Torch” – one of just 20 “no-fail” torches made, is up to $69,975, indicating it will go much higher when the hammer finally drops.
It was specially made to continue burning no matter what the weather conditions were and was used for torch-lighting ceremonies in multiple Soviet cities, including for the opening of the Moscow Games.
A rare 1896 Athens Olympic winner’s medal – silver in those days – in good condition with a rare original presentation case – is already at $33,000 and expected to go for more than $100,000.
The auction includes what is believed to be the first public sale of a Milan Cortina 2026 torch – while the Games are going on – and is already at $15,749 with 33 bids, ahead of the estimate of $12,500-plus beforehand.
The highly-sought-after Lillehammer 1994 Winter Torch is also doing well, at $10.454 so far and 30 bids. It is estimated to bring $30,000 or more.
A unique item on sale is a pin for the cancelled 1944 Winter Games slates to be in Cortina d’Ampezzo! Estimated to bring $300, it’s already up to $666!
= RESULTS: TUESDAY, 17 FEBRUARY =
(6 finals across 5 sports & disciplines)
● Biathlon: Men’s 4×7.5 km Relay
Norway came in as the defending Olympic and World Champion and Uldal Martin handed his team a 50.3-second lead after the first leg over France, in snowy conditions in Anterselva.
But France’s Pursuit bronze winner Emilien Jacquelin stormed the second leg while Norway’s Johan-Olav Botn had shooting problems and took the lead by 16.1 seconds and the French never looked back and won by 1:19:55.2 (9 penalties) to 1:20:05.0 (6). It was their first win ever in this event, after a silver in 2022 and three prior bronzes.
Norway was an easy second, then came Sweden in 1:20:52.7 (6), another 47.7 seconds back, followed by Germany (1:21:43.5/12) and the U.S. in fifth.
That’s the best finish ever by a U.S. team or individual in Olympic biathlon, with Sean Doherty, Maxime Germain, Paul Schommer and Campbell Wright skiing. Wright, who won two Worlds silvers in 2025, started 11th but moved up to fifth by the last shooting stage, with a total time of 1:22:22.6 (8). Wright is just 23.
● Bobsleigh: Two-Man
German stars Johannes Lochner and George Fleischauer, the 2022 silver medalists, came into Tuesday with a 1:49.90 to 1:50.70 margin over teammates Francesco Friedrich and Alexander Schueller, the defending Olympic champions.
That lead grew in the third heat, as Lochner drove the fastest time in 54.68, with third-place Adam Ammour (and Alexander Schaller) second-fastest at 55.12 and then Friedrich’s sled at 55.16. Ammour’s fast time also extended his lead to 0.55 over Frank Del Duca and Joshua Williamson of the U.S., fourth-fastest at 55.40.
Lochner led Friedrich, 2:44.79 to 2:45.71 into their final runs, with Ammour third at 2:46.17.
Del Duca has his best run of the Games and took the lead with a 55.34 time and a 3:41.96 total. Ammour was next, and his 55.35 was good enough for bronze at 3:41.52. Friedrich was up, trying for a third Olympic title in a row and a strong run finished in 55.33 and 3:41.04, good enough for at least silver.
Last up was Lochner, trying for a first Olympic gold and they blitzed the field, racing to a 54.91 time and destroying a brilliant field with a 3:39.70 total. Lochner was the best all season and there were no surprises in Cortina.
The Germans were favored to sweep and did for the second straight Games.
● Freestyle Skiing: Men’s Big Air
Strange things happen in the Olympic Games. Norway’s Tormod Frostad, 23, had won a career total of two World Cup medals coming into the Big Air final, with his only win coming in December of 2024. He was 12th at the 2022 Beijing Games.
But on Tuesday, he was brilliant. In a hot first round, he took the lead at 95.25, barely ahead of teammate and defending champion Birk Ruud (95.00). Frostad was even better in round two, scoring 97.00, but American Mac Forehand, the 2025 Worlds silver winner, was at 95.00 and 95.00 for his first two rounds for a 190.00 total and just behind Frostad’s 192.25.
Austria’s Matej Svancer was also a threat at 187.00.
In round three, American Konnor Ralph scored 91.50 to raise his total to 178.00, then teammate Troy Podmilsak, the 2023 World Champion, scored 94.00 to finish at 184.50 and move into fourth, with Ralph set for fifth.
Svancer improved again to 96.00 to up his score to 191.25, putting the pressure on Forehand for the silver. But the American scored a sensational 98.00 and totaled 193.25, taking the lead with Frostad still to go.
The Norwegian was up to the challenge, scoring an amazing 98.50 on his third attempt and winning the gold with 195.50 points. Superb.
This is the second time Big Air has been in the Games and Norway has won both (Ruud and Frostad) and the U.S. has been second both times (Colby Stevenson and Forehand).
● Nordic Combined: Large Hill (141 m) + 10.0 km
Highly competitive, the Large Hill event ended up just about the same way the Normal Hill did: Norway’s Jens Oftebro coming from behind after the jumping to win.
Oftebro was fifth after the jumping, won by Roya Yamamoto (JPN), and started 22 seconds behind the lead. Austria’s Johannes Lamparter, the 2021 World Champion, was second after the jumping, but Oftebro put down the fastest time on the cross-country course and won in 23:45.0.
Lamparter was game and won silver for the second straight event, in 24:50.9. The bronze went to Finland again, but this time to Ilkka Herola, who moved up from seventh to third in 24:59.8. Teammate Eero Hirvonen, who won the Normal Hill bronze, finished fifth in 25:31.5.
Niklas Malacinski was the top American, in 13th at 27:07.4 after being 12th in the jumping. Ben Loomis was 27th (28:44.9)
Norway has won this event in three of the last four Games, but Lamparter’s silver was the first Austrian medal since 2010 and Herola won Finland’s first medal in the event since 2002.
● Snowboard: Women’s Slopestyle
Heavy overnight snowfall postponed the event until Wednesday!
● Speed Skating: Men’s Team Pursuit, Women’s Team Pursuit
As noted in our preview, the U.S. team of Casey Dawson, Emery Lehman and Ethan Cepuran won the 2025 Worlds gold in this event, were the 2022 Olympic bronze winners, own the world record of 3:32.49 from last November, and won all three World Cup races this season.
They had no shot in the final, facing Italy’s Davide Ghiotto, Andrea Giovannini and Michele Malfatti, who took the lead with 2 1/2 laps to go in the eight-lap race and rolled to a convincing 3:39.20 to 3:43.71 victory.
Italy won its first medal in this event since its first appearance in the Games, at Turin in 2006. The U.S. trio was the same that won bronze in Beijing in 2022, so they moved up one notch. It’s the third American medal in this event (0-2-1).
China won the B Final and took the bronze medal over the Netherlands, 3:41.38 to 3:41.47.
¶
The women’s relay came down to Canada and the Netherlands as expected and the defending Olympic champions from Canada – Ivanie Blondin, Valerie Maltais and Isabelle Weidemann – had the lead with two laps to go in the six-lap race and won by 2:55.81 to 2:56.77, over Joy Beune, Antoinette Rijpma-De Jong and Marijke Groenewoud.
The Dutch won a medal in this race for the fourth straight Games – 1-2-3-2 – and Rijpma-De Jong won her third medal in this event (0-2-1).
Japan had the lead early in the B Final over the U.S. trio of Giorgia Birkeland, Brittany Bowe and Mia Manganello, and won by 2:58.50 to 3:02.00 for the bronze medal. This was the third straight medal for Japan in this event, with 2022 Olympic 1,000 m champ Miho Takagi on all of them (1-1-1).
Elsewhere:
● Curling: Swiss skip Yannick Schwaller’s rink continued undefeated, at 7-0 in the men’s tournament, defeating defending champions Sweden and Niklas Edin, 9-4. Canada, with 2014 Olympic winner Brad Jacobs as skip, is 6-1.
Danny Casper’s U.S. team fell to 4-4 and sixth place after losing, 8-5 to China and 8-5 to Italy (4-3). Round-robin play continues to the 19th.
PyeongChang Olympic champ Anna Hasselborg’s Swedish team lost their first match, 8-6, to Canada and three-time World Champion Rachel Homan, and is still first at 6-1. Tabitha Peterson’s U.S. squad routed Denmark, 10-3, to move to 5-2 and in second place with four-time World Champions Switzerland.
● Figure Skating: The women’s Short Program was held Tuesday, with Japan’s Ami Nakai – with a high-profile, high-scoring triple Axel in her program – leading into the final group at 78.71.
First up in the final six was American Alysa Liu, the 2025 World Champion, who was elegant and precise on the ice and scored 76.59 to stand second. Isabeau Levito, the 2023 U.S. champion, came next in an all fire-engine-red costume and skated with grace and style that scored 70.84 and fifth place. Beautiful, but not spectacular.
After Anastasiia Gubanova (GEO) scored a lifetime best of 71.77 for fourth, Japan’s three-time World Champion Kaori Sakamoto took the ice and offered a technically special and beautiful program that wowed the crowd. She scored 77.23 to stand second.
American Amber Glenn, the triple U.S. champ, was next-to-last and opened with a successful triple Axel, but missed a double Loop. The crowd loved the routine, but Glenn clearly felt the error as she finished and sobbed as she left the rink. “I had it,” she said through tears. The crowd cheered, but her score was 67.39 and 12th place.
The last skater was Japan’s Mone Chiba, the 2025 Worlds bronze winner. Skating to Donna Summer’s “Last Dance.” she had the crowd in her hands and got the loudest cheers of the final group. Her 74.00 earned her fourth place overall, behind Nakai, then Sakamoto, Liu and Chiba. Levito is eighth, heading into the Free Skate on Thursday. Glenn was 13th; nine scored 70 or higher.
● Ice Hockey: In the men’s play-in games, the Czech Republic beat Denmark, 3-2 and will face no. 1 seed Canada. Germany routed France, 5-1 and will play no. 3 Slovakia and the Swiss blanked Italy, 3-0 and will play no. 4 Finland.
Sweden played Latvia with the winner to take on the second-ranked American team on Wednesday. The Swedes got off to a 2-0 lead after a period, and 3-1 after two. The final was 5-1. The Slovakia-Germany and USA-Sweden games are in the lower bracket, and the Canada-Czech and Finland-Swiss games in the top bracket.
= PREVIEWS: WEDNESDAY, 18 FEBRUARY =
(9 finals across 6 sports & disciplines)
● Alpine Skiing: Women’s Slalom
Last event on the alpine calendar and the last chance for a medal in Cortina for American star Mikaela Shiffrin, the greatest Slalom skier in history.
She won this event at Sochi 2014 and an Olympic Giant Slalom gold at PyeongChang in 2018, along with a silver in the Combined. But in the Slalom, she was fourth in 2018 and did not finish in 2022. She owns four Worlds title in the Slalom, but none since 2019, finishing 3-2-5 in the three Worlds since.
In Cortina, she was poised to win a Team Combined gold after Breezy Johnson had the lead following the Downhill, but Shiffrin was 11th in Slalom and fourth as a team. Now she has one more chance to strike gold, before returning to the FIS World Cup tour.
She’s the favorite, but there is doubt. Also, 2025 World Champion Camille Rast has been strong, winning a World Cup this season, and Albania’s Laura Colturi has taken four Slalom medals this season.
Emma Aicher (GER), the Downhill silver winner, is one of the most versatile skiers on tour and won World Cup medals in three Slalom races this season. Those are the logical challengers.
U.S. teammate Paula Moltzan won the Team Combined bronze with Jackie Wiles and is a definite threat in Slalom. Swiss Wendy Holdener, the silver winner in 2018 and bronzer in 2024, also won a World Cup bronze this season. So did Katharina Truppe, who won the Team Combined gold, and her teammate, Katharina Liensberger, was the 2025 Worlds bronze winner.
But this is about Shiffrin. If she is right, she should win. If not?
● Biathlon: Women’s 4×6 km Relay
Sweden is the defending champion and has the Oeberg sisters – Elvira and Hanna – back. France has won this at the last two World Championships and has its 2025 team – Lou Jeanmonnot, Oceane Michelon, Justice Braisaz-Bouchet, Julia Simon – all back and ready to go. They figure as the favorites.
Norway, with Sprint winner Maren Kirkeedie, won the Worlds silver in 2025, and those three teams are odds-on for medals. But Italy, which won two silvers in this event during the World Cup season, has Pursuit winner Lisa Vittozzi to anchor and the home crowd.
During the World Cup season, France won twice, Norway and Sweden once, and Germany and the Czech Republic both won bronzes.
● Cross Country Skiing: Men’s Team Sprint; Women’s Team Sprint
The Team Sprint, with two athletes, has Norway as the two-time defending Olympic champions, both times with record-setter Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo on the team. Klaebo has been part of Norway’s World Championships winners in 2019-21-23-25. Who’s going to stop him from a record 10th Olympic gold? Especially with teammate Oscar Vike taking the Sprint bronze as a partner?
The two World Cup Team Sprint events had Norway winning, then Italy (Elia Barp and Federico Pellegrino) second and Sweden and the U.S. winning bronzes. Pellegrino, Simone Drapa and Simone Mocellini all made the Sprint semis and look ready.
Ben Ogden won the surprise Sprint silver for the U.S. And JC Schoonmaker also made the Sprint semis in Tesoro, so a U.S. medal is a real possibility. But the Czechs, Swedes and perhaps Finland are just as likely to get there as well.
In the women’s event, Norway won four of the six medals during World Cup competition, but they were silvers and bronzes. Sweden has to be the favorite after sweeping the Sprint medals, with Linn Svahn taking gold over Jonna Sundling and Maja Dahlqvist.
Germany also won a World Cup race with Laura Gimmler and Coletta Rydzek, both semifinalists in Tesoro. Norway had Julie Drivenes fourth and Kristine Skistad fifth in the Olympic Sprint and they figure to compete for silver.
The U.S. had Julia Kern in the Sprint final and three others – including Jessie Diggins – in the quarters. Will Diggins compete here with the 50 km still to go? If not, Sammy Smith or Lauren Jortberg could get the call. Diggins and Kern won the Worlds silver in 2025, over the Swiss.
● Freestyle Skiing: Women’s Aerials
Because of heavy snowfall on Tuesday, both the qualifying and finals will be on Wednesday. Beijing 2022 champion Mengtao Xu (CHN) is back, was the silver winner at the 2025 Worlds and scored medals in five of the six World Cup events, including one win.
But American Kalia Kuhn, the 2025 World Champion was third and first in the final two World Cups and teammate Winter Vinecki – maybe the best name in the Games – had a World Cup gold and silver.
Australian Danielle Scott is also a medal favorite, after her 2025 Worlds bronze and a first and third in the final two World Cups, both held in Lake Placid, New York. Canadian Marion Thenault scored a World Cup silver this season and has been in the top six in the last three Worlds and should be a contender. Same for China’s Fanyu Kong, the 2023 World Champion, but who won the second World Cup in December, then didn’t score another medal.
● Short Track: Men’s 500 m; Women’s 3,000 m Relay
In the four ISU World Cups in the men’s 500 m, Canadian star William Dandjinou won three and American Andrew Heo won one. Dutch star Jens van’T Wout won nothing.
He’s won the 1,000 and 1,500 m already.
Canadian Steve Dubois is the 2025 World Champion, beating Denis Nikisha (KAZ: second straight silver) and van’T Wout, and he won two World Cup medals.
Not to be overlooked are Beijing 2022 gold medalist Shaoang Liu (HUN) now affiliated to China, and ex-Korean Xiaojun Lin – the 2024 World 500 m champ – also competing for China.
Pietro Sighel is the best Italian entry and won the 2023 Worlds gold, and a 500 m World Cup silver this season.
The women’s 3,000 m relay should be a fight between the Dutch – with so-far-unbeatable star Xandra Velzeboer – Canada and South Korea. All won World Cup races and the Dutch and Koreans went 1-2 at Beijing 2022 and the Dutch won the 2023 Worlds. In the semis, the Koreans and Canadians had the fastest times.
Italy is also in the A final and that means another shot for star Arianna Fontana to contend for a 14th career Olympic medal.
● Snowboarding: Men’s Slopestyle; Women’s Slopestyle
The winner no matter what the results are will be Canadian Mark McMorris. The 2014-18-22 Olympic bronze medalist suffered a bad crash on 4 February with a concussion and other injuries. But he qualified third on Sunday and is into the final.
Lots of experience in this event. American Red Gerard, the 2018 Olympic winner, is back and qualified 11th. China’s Yuming Su, the 2022 Beijing silver winner, qualified eighth and won medals in both World Cup events this season.
The two World Cup winners, Jake Canter of the U.S. and Romain Allemand (FRA) are in, qualifying 10th and seventh.
But the qualifying leaders were New Zealand’s Dane Menzies – a World Cup bronzer this season – at 86.06 and Norwegian veteran Marcus Kleveland (81.86), the 2021 and 2023 World Champion, who has never won an Olympic medal, placing sixth and eighth in 2018 and 2022. Still just 26, this might be his time.
The U.S. has a third qualifier as well, Oliver Martin, a World Cup bronze winner in Big Air; he scored 78.30 to stand in sixth. And not to be overlooked is Japan’s Ryoma Kimata, the 2023 Worlds runner-up who was the fourth to score 80 or more (80.83) in the preliminaries.
The women’s Slopestyle had to be postponed a day due to heavy snowfall, but is now to be held on Wednesday.
Japan’s Kokomo Murase and New Zealand’s Zoi Sadowski Synnott went 1-2 in the Big Air final, but the Kiwi is the favorite in Slopestyle, where she is the defending Olympic champion, the 2019-21-25 World Champion and beat Murase last year.
Murase was third and first in the two World Cups held so far, which Sadowski Synnott skipped. But in qualifying on Sunday, Sadowski Synnott led at 88.08, trailed by Murase, at 84.93.
Those two appear ready to fight for the top spot on the podium. But Korean Big Air bronzer Seung-eun Kim appears ready to contest as well, third in the qualifying at 76.80.
Japan has two more contenders in Reira Iwabuchi, last year’s World bronzer and Mari Fukada, the 2025 Worlds Big Air third.
Canada’s Laurie Blouin, the 2017 World Champion and 2018 Olympic runner-up is in the final, and won a World Cup this season, and Austria’s Anna Gasser, the two-time Olympic Big Air winner, must be acknowledged, as the no. 5 qualifier.
The U.S. has 16-year-old Lily Dhawornvej, who took a World Cup silver this season and qualified along with fellow 16er Jessica Perlmutter.
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