Freestyle skiing at this year’s Winter Olympics is set to be one of the most exciting events, with old stars and hungry rookies going head-to-head. From ex-Olympic medal winners to emerging talents, these three skiers are set to make the competition even more thrilling in Milano-Cortina.
Jesper Tjader
Jesper Tjader heads to Milano-Cortina to represent Sweden as a four-time Olympic competitor.
He was raised very close to Åre, Sweden’s largest ski resort, learning to ski from age 3.His Bronze medal in Slopestyle at the 2022 Beijing Olympics cemented him as one of the greats. Tjader is known for being innovative and creative; he says he tries “to push the sport and come up with tricks that no one has ever done before,” This approach has paid off many times for Tjader. For example, at the 2023 X Games, where he took gold in Knuckle Huck, before following this up with bronze in 2024. In 2022, at his hometown resort of Åre, Tjader set the Guinness World Record for skiing the longest rail – a whopping 154.49 metres. All of Tjader’s record-breaking tricks have contributed to lots of online success and made him one of the most recognisable figures for the sport. In 2026, he will be looking for another Olympic medal to add to the tally. This year he’ll be competing in both the Slopestyle and Big Air events. Tjader is a creative veteran and his legacy is already secure, but his time for Olympic success is running out. As one of the older competitors, this year’s Olympics may be one of his last chances to medal at the pinnacle of international winter sports.
Luca Harrington
At just 21, Luca Harrington has already shown promise in international freestyle ski competitions, showing the new wave of freestyle skiing. He represented New Zealand in the 2020 Youth Olympics where he won bronze in the Halfpipe event. At the 2025 X Games, Harrington stepped in for an injured athlete and won gold in Slopestyle. Later that year, he finished first in Big Air at the Freestyle Ski World Championships. With momentum on his side, Harrington will represent New Zealand in Slopestyle and Big Air. While the young Kiwi has proven he has the talent to compete at the Olympics, some fans question whether he can handle the pressure of competing on the sport’s biggest stage.
Alex Hall
Alex Hall will represent team USA as he tries to defend his Slopestyle gold medal from the 2022 Games. Hall grew up in Switzerland, before moving to the US aged 16. He is a dual citizen of Italy and the US but chose to compete on the international stage for the US. With 14 X Games medals to his name, Hall is considered to be one of the best freestyle skiers of this generation. He was the first freestyle skier to win in all four categories at the X Games (Slopestyle, Big Air, Knuckle Huck and Real Ski). In the 2022 X Games he became the first person to land a 2160 on skis (six full rotations). Not only is he good at what he does, Hall consistently breaks records and thinks outside the box. This year, Hall will be competing in the Slopestyle and Big Air events, hoping to defend his gold medal in the former. As he will be entering Milano-Cortina as the reigning champion, Hall will be under a lot of pressure from other skiers trying to reach the top step of the podium
