Norwegian star steals free ski big air gold with mind-bending run at the death
Tormod Frostad of Norway won gold in the men's free ski big air final at the Milano Cortina Olympics on Wednesday (AEDT), beating Mac Forehand of the United States on the last jump of a high-scoring final.
Frostad had the lead through most of the 12-man final after nailing two massive jumps, but Forehand turned a thrilling competition on its head when he moved ahead of Frostad on the second-last jump of the night.
That turned what had been looking like a victory lap for Frostad into the most pressure-filled run of his career.
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Tormod Frostad pictured on the last run of the men's free ski big air final, in which he chalked up a score of 98.50 points to snatch gold. Getty
But the 23-year-old Frostad pulled out another flawlessly executed effort to snatch gold from Forehand secure his first Olympic gold medal in his second Games.
Frostad finished with 195.50 points to Forehand's 193.25.
Forehand netted a score of 98.25 with his final run, before Frostad hit back with a 98.50 to capture gold.
Matej Svancer of Austria claimed bronze with 191.25 points.
Watch the Winter Olympic Games Milano Cortina 2026 live and free on Channel 9 and 9Now. Plus, every event live & on demand, every medal in 4K, and exclusive international coverage on Stan Sport.
Tormod Frostad celebrates his epic final run. Getty
Defending champion Birk Ruud of Norway finished eighth after crashing on two of his runs. He won gold in slopestyle last week.
Forehand’s silver was just the second medal for the US in the free ski and snowboarding park events (big air, halfpipe and slopestyle). The other was snowboarder Chloe Kim's silver in halfpipe.
The final was delayed for 15 minutes because of snow flurries that continued throughout the competition.
A snowstorm earlier in the day forced the women’s snowboarding slopestyle final to be pushed back a day.
