Meet The Just-Announced U.S. Olympic Ski And Snowboard Team For The Beijing Games

The Toyota U.S. Grand Prix at Mammoth Mountain, which serves as the final U.S. Olympic ski and snowboard qualifier, continued Saturday with finals in all events but the freeski slopestyle finals.

There was plenty of action with the men’s and women’s snowboard and ski halfpipe finals and the men’s and women’s snowboard slopestyle finals all going down on Saturday. But by far the biggest news Saturday had to offer was the late-night naming of the Olympic team.

Up to four U.S. athletes of each gender are eligible to be named to both the halfpipe and slopestyle/big air teams. (Athletes who qualify for slopestyle are automatically qualified to compete in big air.)

Athletes have been accumulating points during qualifying events from the 2021 world championships in Aspen in March to Dew Tour at Copper Mountain in December and, now, the U.S. Grand Prix at Mammoth.

Though some Americans had already earned Olympic eligibility ahead of the third and final U.S. qualifier this weekend, the official spots will be locked in after this weekend’s events. There is also at least one discretionary selection in each discipline.

In addition to the Olympic team naming, the Volcom-designed Olympic snowboarding kits and the Spyder-designed ski kits were also unveiled Saturday night.

Without further ado, let’s break down the men’s and women’s ski and snowboard Olympic halfpipe and slopestyle teams.

Note: the entire ski and snowboard Olympic team has not yet been named; check back for updates as they are announced

Snowboard Halfpipe

Men

Women

Maddie Mastro

Snowboard Slopestyle/Big Air

Men

Chris Corning

Dusty Henricksen

Red Gerard

Women

Hailey Langland

Jamie Anderson

Ski Halfpipe

Men

Alex Ferreira

Aaron Blunck

David Wise

Women

Brita Sigourney

Hanna Faulhaber

Ski Slopestyle/Big Air

Men

Colby Stevenson

Mac Forehand

Women

In the 72 hours before the U.S. Grand Prix kicked off at Mammoth, the Unbound Terrain Park crew worked tirelessly to construct the halfpipe and slopestyle courses. That behind-the-scenes process is definitely worth a watch.

The men’s U.S. Olympic snowboard halfpipe team was not announced right away, as the point totals and qualifying criteria were much closer than in other disciplines.

Shaun White, who has not earned a podium in any of the three qualifying events this season, did not start in the men’s snowboard halfpipe final Saturday night after going down hard in training, though he did qualify. White had told Olympics.com that he was recovering from Covid over the holidays, though he tested negative in time to compete at the U.S. Grand Prix.

Though White hasn’t earned a podium this season, he is the defending Olympic gold medalist in men’s halfpipe.

For the women’s snowboard halfpipe event earlier on Saturday evening, no Americans advanced to the final, where Japan’s Ruki Tomita, China’s Xuetong Cai and Sena Tomita went 1-2-3. (Women’s U.S. halfpipe riders Chloe Kim and Maddie Mastro, who were almost guaranteed their Olympic bids prior to Saturday’s team naming, didn’t compete in Mammoth.)

On Saturday morning, San Francisco native Eileen Gu, who competes for China internationally, continued her recent dominance as she once again took first place in a women’s freeski halfpipe contest with a massive score of 97.50. Coming off two World Cup wins last weekend at Calgary’s Snow Rodeo, she remains unbeaten in halfpipe this season.

Brita Sigourney, who took bronze in women’s ski pipe Saturday, also took bronze at the 2018 Olympics.

In men’s freeski halfpipe, New Zealand’s Nico Porteous finished on top, with Americans David Wise and Aaron Blunck rounding out the podium. All three posted scores in the 90s.

Wise is the defending Olympic gold medalist in ski pipe, while Alex Ferreira took silver at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games.

Blunck, Ferreira and Hanna Faulhaber had already met qualifying criteria in ski halfpipe ahead of the U.S. Grand Prix, as had Colby Stevenson and Mac Forehand in slopestyle.

In the men’s snowboard slopestyle final on Saturday, Gerard followed up his first-place finish at Dew Tour in December with another win at Mammoth. His score of 82.88 was the only one that earned above an 80 on the day.

For the women, it was American slopestyle queen Jamie Anderson who took her rightful place atop the throne after failing to make the podium at Dew Tour. Anderson’s high score of 86.32 was about four points higher than second-place finisher Zoi Sadowski Synnott, who took first at Dew Tour.

Gerard and Anderson are the reigning Olympic gold medalists in slopestyle. Both had already met Olympic criteria heading into the U.S. Grand Prix, but they’ve put the world on notice that dethroning them in Beijing won’t be easy.

Big Bear Lake, California, native Dusty Henricksen had also met qualifying criteria in men’s snowboard slopestyle ahead of the U.S. Grand Prix, where he finished 10th. The 17-year-old will make his Olympic debut in Beijing.

Wrapping up the action at Mammoth, men’s and women’s freeski slopestyle finals are scheduled for Sunday afternoon. There, Gu, the reigning world champion, will be looking to earn her first win in the discipline this season, despite her halfpipe dominance. Gu is one of the few snowboard or ski athletes in the world who will compete in all three events—halfpipe, slopestyle and big air—at the Olympics.