Big Names Advance to Finals in 2026 Olympic Mens Slopestyle

Featured Image: Courtesy of U.S. Ski Team | Skier: Alex Hall

The 2026 Winter Olympics are here, and we're kicking off the freeski scene with slopestyle. After the women put on a show, it was time for the men to step into the start gate. With 28 skiers entering qualifiers and only 12 moving onto finals, the competition level was incredibly high.

Let's start by looking at the course. Steep, tight and creative, the top rail section features some interesting and downright intimidating metal, including a rainbow rail, multiple down rails, a cannon feature, down-flat-down and interesting transfer options. Below that, the jumps were sculpted to perfection, though commentator and freeski legend Tom Wallisch pointed out they were on the small side.

U.S. rider and potential medalist-favorite Mac Forehand gave FREESKIER some thoughts on the course, saying, "The slopestyle course is super fun this year. It’s a more straightforward course, but with long and technical rails mixed in. There are four sets of rails and three jumps, definitely on the basic side but everything is perfect. Rails are huge. The jumps aren’t too big but not too small, and it’s really flowy and fun!"

The original list of competitors included 29 riders, but unfortunately, Henrik Harlaut did not compete after sustaining a concussion. Skiers had two runs to prove their merit and make it inside the top 12 to advance into finals. Everyone here is obviously the best of the best, though we were surprised to see that Elias Syrja, Kuura Koivisto, Fabian Boesch and Henry Sildaru, among others, did not make it beyond the cut. Hometown hero Miro Tabanelli was also just shy of advancing.

The top 12 were highlighted by Norway and the United States, with both countries sending three riders to the finals. Birk Ruud and Tormod Frostad, both Norwegian, finished in first and second with scores of 81.75 and 79.96, respectively. Each was able to secure their winning scores with big first runs. The iconic Jesper Tjader took home third, followed by Matej Svancer, Andri Ragettli and Mac Forehand.

Ben Barclay, Alex Hall, Luca Harrington, Konnor Ralph, Sebastian Schjerve and Kim Gubser rounded out the list of skiers moving onto the big showdown. It seemed that the riders were holding back a little, so expect include skiing on the way. Stay tuned for finals going down on February 10!

2026 Olympic Slopestyle Qualification Results, Top 12 Move on to Finals: