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Four of the United States’ top snowboarders competed in men’s big air qualifying. Here’s how they stacked up against the international competition.
MILAN, Italy — Snowboarders took flight on Thursday during one of the most visually stunning Winter Olympics events.
Four snowboarders from Team USA took part in the men’s big air qualifying at the 2026 Games, including newcomers Ollie Martin and Jake Canter from Colorado and veterans Red Gerard and Sean FitzSimons, from Colorado and Oregon, respectively.
The athletes launched off a massive ramp and performed the best tricks they could across three runs. Points were awarded to the athletes based on the tricks’ execution, technical difficulty, and style.
Of the four, only Martin scored enough points to place among the top 12 snowboarders, qualifying for the event’s finals on Saturday. Canter, Gerard, and FitzSimons placed outside of the top 12.
This was Martin’s first performance on the Olympic stage and qualified in ninth.
The 17-year-old had already made snowboarding history leading up to the Games. He was the youngest rider ever to land a 2160, or six full 360-degree rotations while in the air, according to U.S. Ski and Snowboarding. He also became the only rider in the world to land both a frontside and backside 2160 while simultaneously securing his first career World Cup victory in 2025.
Canter won his first World Cup less than four weeks before the Winter Olympics started. The first-time Olympian started his high-profile snowboarding resume in 2018 when he took first place in the Junior Jam at the Burton U.S. Open, according to U.S. Ski and Snowboarding. The achievement was an impressive feat, especially since Canter suffered a traumatic head injury in 2016 that left him deaf in his right ear.
Canter finished 15th in Thursday’s qualifying.
Gerard gained national recognition in competitive snowboarding during the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, where he became a gold medalist in the men’s slopestyle event. The victory made him the youngest American snowboarder to win an Olympic medal and the first U.S. athlete to secure gold at the 2018 Games.
Gerard finished 20th in Thursday’s qualifying.
FitzSimons burst onto the global spotlight with his first World Cup victory in slopestyle in 2022, which punched him a ticket to the Beijing Olympics, according to U.S. Ski and Snowboarding. Since then, he’s had more than five World Cup starts, seven top-ten finishes and four Nor-Am Cup podiums under his belt.
He finished 25th in Thursday’s big air qualifying.
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