Mac Forehand Closes Out Big Season With Slopestyle Silver In Silvaplana

Mac Forehand performs a trick during the men's freestyle skiing big air qualification at the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 on Feb. 7, 2022 in Beijing.

It’s certainly been a big year for skier Mac Forehand, who not only made his X Games debut but also his Olympic debut competing in big air and slopestyle in Beijing.

On Saturday, the 20-year-old from Southport, Connecticut, wrapped things up with a second-place finish in the final FIS World Cup slopestyle event of the year in Silvaplana, Switzerland. This was Forehand’s fourth world cup podium overall but his first of the season. 

Forehand earned the podium-worthy score of 91.75 on his first of two runs on a beautiful, clear day on the mountain. The course played well for skilled jumpers, with three big launches highlighting the features. With a high score of 94 from the U.S. judge, Forehand landed in the second spot behind Norway’s Birk Ruud, the Olympic big air champion who led the field of 16 finalists with a 94.5. Their positions remained unchanged after the second and final run, with Switzerland’s Andri Ragettli, the reigning world champion, coming in third with a score of 90.0.

It was at Silvaplana three years ago that Forehand wrapped up a breakout season, winning the slopestyle crystal globe at the age of 17. That season included a second-place finish for his first world cup podium and then his first-ever win.

The win clinched Ruud the overall park and pipe crystal globe, while Forehand finished eighth in the overall standings and third in slopestyle. He was second in his X Games debut this year, winning silver in big air, shortly before departing for Beijing. Forehand didn’t make the final in slopestyle in his first Olympics but did in big air and finished 11th overall.

Among the Americans joining Forehand on the slopes on Saturday was reigning Olympic gold medalist Alex Hall, who finished ninth. That score secured him third place in the overall standings.

Karen Price is a reporter from Pittsburgh who has covered Olympic and Paralympic sports for various publications. She is a freelance contributor to TeamUSA.org on behalf of Red Line Editorial, Inc.