Jonas Hasler starts his first Olympic Games on Thursday evening. The 19-year-old snowboarder has to qualify in the Big Air.
05.02.2026, 05:15
05.02.2026, 06:52
SDA
The first training sessions have gone well and Jonas Hasler hardly feels any nervousness. "Before I left, I thought a lot about what it would be like. Now I'm just happy to be here," he said during the online media round from the hotel in Livigno.
He is not aiming for a specific ranking, as there are too many factors, including the weather, that cannot be influenced. "I've made it here. Competing is the icing on the cake. The most important thing for me is to have fun and do my best."
Hasler, who also competes in slopestyle and halfpipe, sees opening his Games on Thursday with the big air discipline as an advantage. Because while he thinks he has the best chances in slopestyle and would be "incredibly happy" if he qualified for the final or won a diploma, he can start in big air without worrying too much.
The Olympics also begin for Ariane Burri on Sunday evening with the women's big air qualification. This will be the 25-year-old's second time at the Winter Games. "But it's a completely different event, especially compared to 2022, when everything was heavily controlled due to Covid," emphasized the snowboarder.
She herself has also matured in recent years. "Back then, it was mega that I managed to qualify at all. This time I would have been disappointed if it hadn't been enough," she said. Nevertheless, she doesn't set herself any results as a goal - she can't influence what the other athletes show. "If I perform my best snowboarding and show my tricks the way I want to, then I'll go home happy."
