Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 Preview: Snowboarding

Olympic Winter Games snowboarding events include halfpipe, slopestyle, Big Air, snowboard cross, and parallel giant slalom.

For the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026, these sports will be held in Livigno, Italy, near the Swiss border. The Livigno Snow Park was constructed specifically for the Games. Livigno is located about 3.5 hours northeast of Milan and 5.5 hours west of Cortina.

Snowboarding made its Olympic Winter Games debut in 1998 at the Nagano Games with just four events: men’s and women’s halfpipe and giant slalom. Since then, the sport has expanded to 11 events, with mixed team snowboard cross added at the 2022 Beijing Games. 


Team USA has been extraordinary successful at the sport that originated on American snow, with U.S. snowboarders winning 35 medals since the 1998 Olympic Winter Games. Three of the most successful snowboarding Olympians are American. From 2006 to 2018, Shaun White won three Olympic gold medals. Lindsey Jacobellis spread her three Olympic medals (two gold, one silver) across 16 years (2006 to 2022), and Jamie Anderson has won two golds and one silver from 2014 to the 2022 Games.


At Milano Cortina 2026, the U.S. men will be looking for their first medals in halfpipe and slopestyle since White and Red Gerard won gold, respectively, in 2018. And the U.S. will look to defend their mixed team Olympic gold medal from the 2022 Beijing Games.

Alpine snowboarding could be singing its swan song at the 2026 Olympic Winter Games. After the Games conclude, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) will look at the sport’s popularity and consider whether or not to continue including the event in the Olympic Winter Games program.


Halfpipe: Since halfpipe debuted at the 1998 Olympic Winter Games, a U.S. snowboarder has made the podium in every Games. Ross Powers and Shannon Dunn-Downing kicked it off with bronze medals in 1998. Powers then upped it to gold in 2002, leading a USA podium sweep, while Kelly Clark won the women’s halfpipe. White took over in 2006, winning halfpipe gold at those Games, then again in 2010 and 2018. Female gold medalists include Hannah Teter (2006), Kaitlyn Farrington (2014), and Chloe Kim (2018 and 2022).


Slopestyle: Slopestyle debuted at the 2014 Sochi Games with Sage Kostenburg and Anderson winning Team USA’s first golds. Anderson successfully defended her gold at the 2018 Games, while Gerard won for the men. At the most recent Games in Beijing 2022, Julia Marino was the U.S.’s sole Olympic medalist in slopestyle with a silver.


Big Air: Big Air made its Olympic debut at PyeongChang 2018, with Anderson and Kyle Mack claiming silver medals.



Snowboard cross: Snowboard cross, or SBX, became an Olympic sport at the 2006 Games, with Seth Wescott winning gold and Jacobellis taking silver. Wescott became a two-time Olympic gold medalist after he won SBX again at the 2010 Games. Then Alex Deibold won an Olympic bronze medal in 2014. The U.S. did not stand atop the medal stand again until 2022, when Jacobellis finally won gold in SBX. Then she and Nick Baumgartner won the inaugural mixed team event at the Olympics in 2022.

Parallel giant slalom: Team USA has only won two medals in snowboarding’s alpine events. Chris Klug and Rosey Fletcher both won bronze medals, at the 2002 and 2006 Olympic Winter Games, respectively.

Halfpipe: Kim is back for her third Olympic Games. The reigning world halfpipe champion will look to add a third Olympic gold medal to her collection. Maddie Mastro, also appearing in her third Games, will also likely be in the medal mix. She was the overall world cup leader last winter.


Slopestyle: Two-time X Games winner Gerard was one of the first Team USA athletes to qualify for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games. He was a dominant rider during the 2024-2025 season and is carrying that momentum into the Olympic year. 





Big Air: Look out for 17-year-old Oliver Martin, a slopestyle and Big Air talent. He made the podium in his first world championship in 2025, taking bronze in both Big Air and slopestyle. He also won a silver medal in Big Air at the 2024 Youth Olympic Winter Games. The Colorado native is the youngest rider to ever land a 2160 (six spins) and the only snowboarder in the world who can throw a frontside and a backside 2160.


Snowboard cross: At age 43, Baumgartner is aiming to become a five-time Olympian. At the 2025 world championships, he led the U.S. in fifth in SBX and made the semifinals (with 23-year-old Acy Craig) in mixed team SBX.


Snowboard competition begins on February 5. Medals will be awarded on:

February 7 (Men’s Big Air)

February 8 (Men’s and Women’s Parallel Giant Slalom)

February 9 (Women’s Big Air)

February 12 (Men’s Snowboard Cross & Women’s Halfpipe)

February 13 (Women’s Snowboard Cross & Men’s Halfpipe)

February 15 (Mixed Team Snowboard Cross)

February 17 (Women’s Slopestyle)

February 18 (Men’s Slopestyle)