- Mac Forehand thought he’d done enough with a massive 98.25 — then the Norwegian dropped an even bigger 98.50 on the final run to win Olympic gold in men’s freeski big air.
Tormod Frostad saved his biggest moment for the biggest stage.
MILAN (CONVERSEER) – In a dramatic men’s freeski big air final at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 on Tuesday evening (17 February), Frostad sealed gold at the Livigno Olympic Big Air venue with a competition-best 98.50 on his final jump. After opening with 95.25, the Norwegian levelled up with a switch right tail butter double bio 1620 in run two (97.00), then somehow found another gear in run three with a right nose butter double bio 1620 — the huge score that swung the standings back his way and secured the Olympic title on 195.50.
USA’s Mac Forehand had just hit the front with a huge 98.25 on his final jump, moving to 193.25 — but Frostad answered immediately to snatch gold. Austria’s Matej Svancer completed the podium with bronze on 191.25.
Forehand knew he would likely move into silver with his second run — but the final jump was something else entirely.
“I thought of a trick that I could go into first with a couple of days prior with my coaches,” he told Olympics.com. “Got to the top, talked about it, didn’t really want to do it — but they’re like, you could do it for sure.”
That trick? A nose butter triple cork 2160 — a move he said had never been done before.
“It was terrifying,” Forehand admitted. “You’re doing something you’ve never done before, the crowd’s cheering, the pressure’s on — but this is the stuff we dream of. I knew I had a shot at winning with that trick.”
All three medallists were flawless on the night, landing each of their runs in a final where execution mattered as much as difficulty. For context, Birk Ruud, who finished eighth today, won gold in this event at Beijing 2022 with a score of 187.55 — that would have placed him fourth at Milano Cortina.
The win gives Frostad his first Olympic medal at his second Games — and makes it back-to-back Olympic gold for Norway in the event.
