Will Livigno be the scene of historic Swiss heights at the Olympic Games? The most important facts about the freestyle and ski cross competitions in four points.
29.01.2026, 05:30
29.01.2026, 06:55
SDA
Which competitions are taking place in Livigno?
From February 5, Livigno, situated at an altitude of over 1800 meters, will be the venue for all snowboard and ski freestyle competitions, from halfpipe, slopestyle and big air to aerials, moguls and parallel giant slalom for alpine snowboarders. The ski crossers will also determine their Olympic champions at the ski resort in northern Lombardy near the Swiss border. A total of 26 medals will be decided in Livigno.
Two venues have been built for this in recent months and years: the "Mottolino Snowpark" for skicross, halfpipe, slopestyle and big air and the "Carosello 3000 Park" for aerials and moguls. Due to the massive ecological interventions and water pollution caused by the excessive use of artificial snow, the preparations have been criticized on various occasions.
Who are the Swiss hopefuls?
Probably the biggest Swiss trump card in the freestyle competitions is Mathilde Gremaud. At the age of 25, the freeskier from the canton of Fribourg is competing at the Olympic Games for the third time, has never been without a medal and already has a complete set of medals. Last weekend, she underlined the fact that she will also be one of the best in her field in 2026 with a fourth victory at the X-Games.
In ski cross, Ryan Regez is the Olympic and world champion. Fanny Smith is also the reigning world champion and, together with Sandra Näslund, the Swedish dominator of the moment, is one of the most successful female ski crossers. Alex Fiva, the 2022 Olympic silver medallist, is also among the front runners at the age of 39.
Noé Roth is the two-time and reigning world champion on the aerials hill, and his team-mate Pirmin Werner has already jumped onto the podium in the World Cup this season. Freeskier Andri Ragettli is aiming for an Olympic medal in slopestyle at his third attempt.
How did the Swiss freestylers do in Beijing 2022?
Four years ago in China, 6 of the 15 Swiss medals were won by freestylers. Mathilde Gremaud won gold in slopestyle and bronze in big air, while Ryan Regez and Alex Fiva celebrated a double victory in skicross. Fanny Smith was awarded bronze after a ten-month delay, having initially been disqualified for an allegedly illegal maneuver in the final. Jan Scherrer secured bronze in the halfpipe.
Who is in the spotlight from an international perspective?
Eileen Gu, a lively Chinese woman who grew up in the USA, is the big international star of the female freeskiers. At the age of 23, the daughter of a Chinese mother and an American father, who is also in demand as a model, is a two-time Olympic champion and two-time world champion. According to Forbes, she is one of the best-paid sportswomen in the world. In the World Cup, where she only competes sporadically, she has won 20 times so far, more than anyone else.
In the women's snowboard halfpipe, American double Olympic champion Chloe Kim (25) is the measure of all things. In the men's competition, the extroverted Australian Scotty James outshines the introverted Beijing winner Ayumu Hirano from the elusive Japanese freestyle armada.
Sandra Näslund is the 2022 Olympic ski cross champion and the World Cup record winner with 44 successes. Mikaël Kingsbury puts the little-noticed moguls on the international map with his lavish palmarès. The 33-year-old Canadian is the 2018 Olympic champion and 2014 and 2022 Olympic silver medallist, nine-time world champion, 100-time World Cup winner and 13-time overall World Cup winner.
