Red Gerard chases redemption at 2026 winter olympics men's snowboarding slopestyle in Italy
Red Gerard, the teenage sensation who stunned the world with an unlikely gold in 2018, returns to slopestyle at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy with something to prove. After a frustrating finish in 2022 and a shaky start in this Games' big air qualifiers, the 25-year-old American is focused on reclaiming the top step and becoming the first snowboarder to win two Olympic slopestyle titles.
From oversleeping to Olympic favorite — a career of highs and tough lessons
Gerard’s rise to fame was as improbable as it was cinematic. At 17 he qualified for the Olympic final with little expectation, stayed up the night before watching television, overslept the next morning and showed up wearing a friend’s oversized jacket. He vaulted from 11th to first on his final run and took gold by more than a point. "It wasn’t really supposed to happen, " he said of that breakthrough moment.
The path since has been uneven. Entering the 2022 Games as defending champion, Gerard and his peers were vocal about inconsistent judging that left him frustrated. He described the experience as "heartbreaking" and said that the subjective nature of judged events remains one of the sport’s most difficult realities: "No one’s going to agree on the way it was judged. " Those sentiments hardened his resolve to return to the slopestyle course with a clearer aim at redemption in Italy.
Italy setup: mixed results and a singular focus on slopestyle
At this month’s competition in Italy, Gerard’s Olympic program began with a 20th-place finish in big air qualifications — an event he has never enjoyed. Because athletes are required to participate in both big air and slopestyle, he was forced into an early run he described as a formality rather than a passion. "Honestly, I don’t understand why we’re forced to do this. I don’t like to do this. It’s not what I enjoy, " he said after the result.
Still, the poor big air showing has not dampened his slopestyle ambitions. Slopestyle has long been Gerard’s specialty and the event that first launched him into the public eye. In Italy he arrives with the familiar easygoing demeanor that helped him ride a wave of attention after 2018: fleeting celebrity, hectic media obligations, and the odd moment of being recognized in the street. "You win a gold medal and you go from being this unknown snowboarder to an A-list celebrity for a minute or two, " he said, later noting the fleeting nature of that fame.
At 25, Gerard is now in the prime years for technical progression and competitive savvy. He has the potential to make history in slopestyle by becoming the sport’s first two-time Olympic gold medalist, a feat that would cement his legacy beyond the viral stories and early-morning scramble that marked his debut.
What to watch in the slopestyle final
Expect Gerard to emphasize consistency and course management. After the subjective controversies in past Games, many riders are prioritizing clean runs with high-scoring tricks that minimize judging ambiguity. Gerard has repeatedly leaned on his creative trick selection and relaxed style — elements that helped him pull off the upset in 2018 — and will be aiming for a run that blends technical difficulty with undeniable flow.
For Gerard, the stakes are both personal and historic. A gold medal would erase the sting of past disappointments and alter the record books; anything less will still be measured against the improbable story that made him a household name. Either way, the slopestyle final will be a defining moment in his attempt to turn early promise into lasting greatness.
