Su Yiming’s birthday gold headlines 2026 winter olympics men's snowboarding slopestyle
Livigno, Italy — Wednesday, February 19, 2026 (ET) — Su Yiming celebrated his 22nd birthday by claiming the men’s snowboard slopestyle title at Livigno Snow Park, converting an early lead into gold while Taiga Hasegawa took silver and American Jake Canter surged to bronze with a breathtaking final run.
Su holds off the field with opening-run masterclass
Su opened the final with a clean, high-scoring run that set the tone for the competition and ultimately proved unbeatable. The score of 82. 41 from his first run stood as the winning mark, giving him his fourth Olympic medal and his second on these Games after a big air bronze earlier in the week. Su’s performance combined technical difficulty with near-flawless execution, and his emotion at the top of the podium was plain to see. "I'm speechless right now. My dream came true, " he said after accepting the medal. He later reflected on the pressure of expectation and the relief of delivering under it: "There's a lot of pressure on the shoulders, for sure, trying to get this gold for Team China. "
Canter’s late heroics lift U. S. back onto the podium
Jake Canter staged a dramatic climb from ninth to third on his final attempt, producing a clutch run that included a double underflip off the cannon and a massive finale: a backside 1980. That five-and-a-half-rotation trick, landed cleanly at the finish, pushed his total to 79. 36 and delivered the United States its first men’s slopestyle medal since 2018. "There's no words to describe this, " Canter said. "It’s unbelievable. I couldn't be happier. " Canter’s Olympic breakthrough followed his first World Cup victory last month, and his aggressive final-run strategy paid off when it mattered most.
Podium drama and tough breaks for veterans
Taiga Hasegawa of Japan claimed silver with an 82. 13, finishing narrowly behind Su and rounding out a tightly contested top three. Several established stars faced disappointment: Mark McMorris, a three-time Olympic bronze medalist in this event, fell on two frontside 1800 attempts and finished eighth — his first Olympic finish off the podium in slopestyle. The veteran acknowledged the sting of the result while expressing gratitude for the experience and support he felt at the event.
Red Gerard, the 2018 Olympic champion, was in contention through much of the final but came up short after a costly fall on his second-jump backside 1800 when attempting to add an extra rotation. His first-run score of 76. 60 held up for sixth. Seventeen-year-old Ollie Martin produced solid runs but could not clean up an opening rail feature, ending the final in ninth place with a 75. 36.
Final standings and what it means going forward
The Livigno slopestyle final featured a mix of rising talent and seasoned campaigners. The top of the results read: Su Yiming (82. 41) gold, Taiga Hasegawa (82. 13) silver, Jake Canter (79. 36) bronze. Marcus Kleveland narrowly missed the podium in fourth with 78. 96, and Romain Allemand placed fifth with 76. 95.
For Su, the victory is both a personal milestone and a national highlight — a title won on his birthday and a return to the top step of Olympic slopestyle after his breakout performances four years ago. For Canter, the bronze validates recent momentum and suggests the American pipeline remains strong. For veterans who struggled here, the result is a reminder of how razor-thin margins can be in slopestyle: execution on a single trick can flip a final in seconds. As the snowboarding program continues through these Games, the Livigno results will reverberate for athletes and teams plotting their paths toward the 2030 Winter Games.
