2026 winter olympics men's snowboarding slopestyle: Red Gerard chases redemption in Italy
Red Gerard, the 2018 slopestyle surprise who famously overslept before his first Olympic final, has returned to the Olympic stage in Italy with one clear aim: reclaim slopestyle gold and erase the disappointment of four years ago. The laid-back 25-year-old who shot to fame as a teenager now carries heavier expectations and the chance to make history.
From Brooklyn binge to Olympic gold
Gerard’s unlikely rise to Olympic gold began in Pyeongchang in 2018. A 17-year-old who’d stayed up the night before the final watching TV with a friend, he showed up late, wearing a borrowed jacket two sizes too big, and still managed to vault from 11th to first on his final run. The victory made him the youngest Winter Olympic champion since 1928 and transformed a previously under-the-radar snowboarder into a household name for a brief, bright moment.
That early triumph came with a blend of disbelief and youthful nonchalance. Gerard has often described the experience as surreal — one week a nobody, the next briefly an A-list curiosity. The sudden spotlight didn’t change his core personality: he remained a snowboarder who prefers riding to press obligations, and who grew up learning tricks in a backyard with his five brothers.
Bitter taste and the judging debate
The follow-up in Beijing left Gerard frustrated. As the defending champion in 2022, he arrived with expectations that were not met, and he voiced sharp displeasure with what he saw as inconsistent judging. That disappointment lingered: he called the experience heartbreaking and lamented the politics and subjectivity that can haunt judged winter sports. The criticism underscored a recurring tension in slopestyle, where runs are evaluated by panels and interpretations of style, difficulty and execution can vary sharply from judge to judge.
Gerard’s candid commentary about judging captured a broader unease within the sport. Snowboarders routinely express the frustration of having elite runs scored in ways that don’t always reflect what riders and fans believe they delivered. For Gerard, who thrives in a format where creativity and risk are rewarded, that unpredictability has been a source of real anguish.
Redemption bid at the 2026 Winter Olympics men's snowboarding slopestyle
Now 25 and competing in Italy, Gerard has one more chance to secure slopestyle immortality. If he wins, he will be the first snowboarder to capture two Olympic slopestyle gold medals — a feat that would cement his place in the sport’s history beyond the viral charm of his teenage win.
This edition of the Games has not been all smooth sailing for him. Gerard finished 20th in big air qualifying, an event he has little interest in but was required to enter under current competition rules. He has been vocal about the frustration with needing to compete across both big air and slopestyle, arguing that the mandate forces riders into contests that don’t reflect their priorities or strengths. Still, the early schedule meant he was on site and focused for slopestyle, the discipline he considers his bread and butter.
Beyond medals and headlines, Gerard’s return is also a study in growth. He remains characteristically relaxed and self-aware — the same rider who once joked about the pressures of celebrity after his first gold — but now he carries accumulation of experience, bruises from disappointment and a clearer sense of what redemption would mean. Fans and competitors will watch to see if the easygoing soul who surprised the world at 17 can harness that laid-back energy into a composed, history-making performance.
Whether he ultimately triumphs or falls short, Gerard’s presence underscores the larger drama of judged winter sports: the mix of high-stakes creativity, subjective scoring and the narrow margins that separate gold from what might have been. In Italy this month, that story will play out again on the slopestyle course, where one run can redefine a career.
