Right at the start, it’s a backflip onto a rail for Swedish skier Jesper Tjäder. Things are looking good for his second run down the course at the Livigno Snow Park in the men’s slopestyle final.
Then, off the second rail, he teeters backward into the snow. The crowd groans. Slopestyle skiers get three runs down the course and then take their best score of the three. So in a competition like the Olympics, that’s enough to make this run a throwaway.
But Mr. Tjäder doesn’t throw it away. He skis over to the side of the course, reclips his ski boots, and then tucks down for speed before flying off a jump to twist and turn this way and that. Again. And again. It’s just another day on a snowy playground for Mr. Tjäder, who also happens to hold the world record for the longest rail ski.
Why We Wrote This
For the men flying through the air at the Livigno Snow Park on Tuesday afternoon, joy was the point.
It’s not just Mr. Tjäder who flubs and then flies. The conditions weren’t optimal for the men’s slopestyle final on Tuesday afternoon. There was what skiers call a “flat light,” which eliminates shadows and makes it “hard to manage your vision in the air while you’re flipping around,” says gold medalist Birk Ruud of Norway. The rails themselves at the top of the course are particularly tricky: tall, long, and extra zigzaggy.
After winning the silver medal, U.S. freestyle skier Alex Hall called it “probably the hardest rail course I’ve ever skied, and I think a lot of us have ever skied.”
Luca Harrington of New Zealand, who took home his first Olympic medal with a bronze, reflected on the technical aspects of keeping skis on rails through this course. “These things are a couple meters off the ground, they’re impressive to look at, and they’re a lot longer,” he says. “This usually means it’s a lot more challenging to make it to the end, especially whilst doing spins in, spins on, spins off. So that’s been a fun surprise.”
All of this meant that several skiers were hit with an Olympic-sized disappointment right at the start of their run. But after stumbling, skier after skier tightened their boots, collected loose skis, and proceeded to do tricks that those of us at the bottom feel weak-kneed to even watch. Even when Mr. Ruud knew he had won the gold before his last trip down the slope, he couldn’t help himself. He proceeded to flip his way down what was supposed to be a victory lap – and face-planted off a rail along the way.
For the men flying through the air at the Livigno Snow Park on Tuesday afternoon, joy was the point.
“For me, that’s almost everything,” Mr. Tjäder told the Monitor in an interview after coming in fifth. “Medals are for sure fun, and it’s a bonus, but I wouldn’t say that’s the main reason I’m here. I’m here to have fun and show my skiing. … At the Olympics, you want to show your best tricks.”
For some, carrying on was strategic. The course is judged in sections, so depending on the size of the mistake, doing well in other sections could still earn a score that, while not podium-worthy, could move them up in the standings. Others used a fumbled run as practice for ones to come through a scoring system that’s intended to encourage creativity. Even if that particular run has no chance for a winning score, you can still “get a feeling of the course for the next run,” says Norwegian skier Sebastian Schjerve, who has stood atop a World Cup podium three times. “Maybe try to do something cool just for the crowd and people watching at home,” he adds with a smile.
And also: It’s fun.
Gonzalo Fuentes/Reuters
“I can’t come this far and be like, ‘Ah, screw it,’” says Austrian skier Matěj Švancer, a flashy competitor in big air and slopestyle, who won a World Cup title in 2025. He made headlines in January when his ski popped off at the top of a run at the World Cup in Switzerland, but he still stuck the landing on one ski and placed second. In Livigno, he finished seventh. But that hardly matters (almost) to these masters of innovation. “I’m going to give it my all because that’s what I’ve been training for,” says Mr. Švancer.
For U.S. skier Konnor Ralph, the thrill of competing in his first Winter Games softened any disappointment in a ninth-place finish.
“I’m super bummed, obviously,” says Mr. Ralph through a smile. “But I get to be here.”
The Games – and the fun – aren’t over yet. Mr. Ralph and the rest of the slopestyle skiers will also compete in the men’s freeski big air qualifying round on Sunday.
Associated Press
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Jacob Turcotte/Staff