Su Yiming’s birthday gold caps 2026 winter olympics men's snowboarding slopestyle in Livigno
Su Yiming celebrated his 22nd birthday by reclaiming Olympic slopestyle supremacy, winning gold at the men's snowboard slopestyle final in Livigno and delivering China its first gold of the Games. The former Beijing champion posted an 82. 41 on his opening run and held off a late charge from rivals to take the top step.
Opening-run masterclass secures gold for Su
Su’s opening run set the tone early in the final. The score of 82. 41 proved untouchable as riders chased higher-risk tricks on the remaining attempts. It was a landmark moment for Su, who collected his fourth Olympic medal just days after taking bronze in the big air competition. Balancing the pressure of expectation with a visible grin on the podium, he called the day a dream come true and praised his competitors for pushing the field.
Su’s background as a high-profile figure outside the sport—he worked as a child actor and rose to national stardom before focusing fully on snowboarding—has been part of the narrative around his career. At 22, he has already converted that early promise into an elite competitive résumé, now highlighted by a gold that arrived on a day heavy with personal and national significance.
Late fireworks: Canter climbs to bronze, Hasegawa takes silver
Japan’s Taiga Hasegawa finished tightly behind Su with an 82. 13, taking silver after a composed set of runs. Hasegawa, the 2023 big air world champion, combined technical rail work and big-air amplitude to trouble the top spot but ultimately fell short by a narrow margin.
American Jake Canter produced the headline-clinching performance of the final with a dramatic last run. Vaulting six places on the leaderboard, Canter landed a high-difficulty backside 1980 on his closing jump and scored 79. 36, earning the United States a return to the men's slopestyle podium. Canter described the moment as surreal, calling the pressure at the top of the hill a privilege and celebrating a breakthrough Olympic medal that caps sustained progress on the World Cup circuit.
Notable finishes and what this means for the field
Veterans and rising stars populated the rest of the top 10. Marcus Kleveland of Norway and Romain Allemand of France placed fourth and fifth, respectively, while Red Gerard—who won Olympic gold in PyeongChang—finished sixth after a fall on his final run. The contest also featured the sport’s seasoned campaigners and fresh talent: Mark McMorris, chasing another podium streak, finished eighth after two missed attempts at a frontside 1800, and 17-year-old Ollie Martin of the United States produced a strong showing to end up ninth.
The event underscored slopestyle’s evolving difficulty and the margins that now separate medalists. Athletes are increasingly blending technical rail sequences with multi-rotation airs, pushing the envelope on rotation and inversion. That progression makes consistency at big events all the more valuable; Su’s clean, confident first run proved decisive when later challengers took bigger risks.
For China, the gold represents both a sporting milestone at these Games and another step in Su’s fast-moving career. For the United States and Japan, the podium finishes demonstrate depth across different generations of riders. As athletes reflect on their runs in the coming days, the results in Livigno will reverberate through the slopestyle circuit and shape momentum heading into remaining events at the Winter Games.
Final top three: Su Yiming (CHN) 82. 41 — Gold; Taiga Hasegawa (JPN) 82. 13 — Silver; Jake Canter (USA) 79. 36 — Bronze.
