Freestyle skiing is one of the six skiing disciplines contested at the Winter Olympic Games, and one of the youngest. [1] In 1924, the first Winter Olympics featured Nordic skiing disciplines (cross-country skiing, ski jumping, and Nordic combined), [2] while alpine skiing was first contested in 1936. [3] Only at the 1992 Winter Olympics, in Albertville, France, were freestyle skiing events first held as official medal events. [4] Before that, freestyle skiing was contested at the 1988 Winter Olympics as a demonstration sport, consisting of events for both men and women in three variants: moguls, aerials and ski ballet. [5] In Albertville, moguls was the first-ever official freestyle skiing medal event; aerials and ski ballet were also held but still as demonstration events. [5] The growing popularity of aerials convinced the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to add this freestyle discipline to the 1994 Winter Olympics official program. [5] Moguls and aerials have thus been contested at every Winter Games since. Ski cross inclusion in the Winter Olympics program was approved at an IOC Executive Board meeting in November 2006, and the first events were held at the 2010 Winter Olympics. [6]
At the 2002 Winter Olympics, two days after Steve Bradbury gave Australia its first-ever Winter Olympic gold medal, Alisa Camplin won the freestyle aerials event, becoming the first Australian woman to win gold at the Winter Games; four years later, she collected a second consecutive medal, a bronze. [7] In 2010, the third Olympics hosted by Canada finally consecrated a Canadian athlete as Olympic champion: Alexandre Bilodeau took the gold medal in the men's moguls, overcoming defending champion Dale Begg-Smith of Australia. [8] Kari Traa of Norway has won three medals (one gold, one silver, one bronze) in three successive Games, more than any other freestyle skier at the Winter Olympics. [9] Alexandre Bilodeau and David Wise are the most successful male freestyle skiers, with two gold medals. Alexandre Bilodeau was also the first freestyle skier to win back to back gold medals when he won gold in the 2010 and 2014 moguls. The youngest freestyle skier to win an Olympic medal is Swiss Mathilde Gremaud, who secured a silver in 2018 with 18 years old, while Tatjana Mittermayer of Germany is the oldest medalist, following her silver in the 1998 moguls event, aged 33. [10] [11]
Overall, 132 medals (44 of each color) have been awarded to skiers representing 22 National Olympic Committees (NOC).
Table of contents | |
---|---|
Men | Moguls • Aerials • Big air • Ski cross • Halfpipe • Slopestyle |
Women | Moguls • Aerials • Big air • Ski cross • Halfpipe • Slopestyle |
Mixed | |
Statistics | Athlete medal leaders • Medals per year • Medal sweep events |
Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Canada | 4 | 2 | 0 | 6 |
2 | Finland | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
3 | Australia | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
4 | United States | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 |
5 | France | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
6 | Sweden | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
7 | Russia | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
8 | Japan | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Belarus China | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
3 | United States | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
4 | Ukraine | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
5 | Czechoslovakia Switzerland | 1 | 1 | ||
8 | Australia France | 1 | 1 | ||
9 | Olympic Athletes from Russia Russia ROC | 1 | 1 |
Games | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
---|---|---|---|
2022 Beijing | Birk Ruud Norway | Colby Stevenson United States | Henrik Harlaut Sweden |
Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Norway (NOR) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
2 | United States (USA) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
3 | Sweden (SWE) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Total | 3 nations | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | United States (USA) | 2 | 3 | 2 | 7 |
2 | Canada (CAN) | 2 | 3 | 0 | 5 |
3 | Norway (NOR) | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
5 | France (FRA) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
Japan (JPN) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | |
7 | Australia (AUS) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
8 | Germany (GER) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Unified Team (EUN) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
10 | Kazakhstan (KAZ) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
ROC (ROC) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
Russia (RUS) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Belarus | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
2 | Australia | 2 | 2 | 4 | |
3 | China | 1 | 5 | 2 | 8 |
4 | Switzerland | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
5 | United States Uzbekistan | 1 | 1 | ||
7 | Canada | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
8 | Norway | 1 | 1 |
Games | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
---|---|---|---|
2022 Beijing | Eileen Gu China | Tess Ledeux France | Mathilde Gremaud Switzerland |
Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | China (CHN) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
2 | France (FRA) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
3 | Switzerland (SUI) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Total | 3 nations | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Switzerland (SUI) | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
2 | Canada (CAN) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
3 | China (CHN) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
United States (USA) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
5 | Estonia (EST) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Great Britain (GBR) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
Total | 6 nations | 3 | 3 | 3 | 9 |
Games | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
---|---|---|---|
2022 Beijing | United States (USA) Ashley Caldwell Christopher Lillis Justin Schoenefeld | China (CHN) Xu Mengtao Jia Zongyang Qi Guangpu | Canada (CAN) Marion Thénault Miha Fontaine Lewis Irving |
Athletes who won at least two medals are listed below. [12]
Athlete | Nation | Event | Olympics | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
David Wise | United States (USA) | Men's halfpipe | 2014–2022 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
Eileen Gu | China (CHN) | Women's big air Women's slopestyle Women's halfpipe | 2022 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
Alexandre Bilodeau | Canada (CAN) | Men's moguls | 2006–2014 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Xu Mengtao | China (CHN) | Women's aerials Mixed team aerials | 2010–2022 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
Kari Traa | Norway (NOR) | Women's moguls | 1998–2006 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
Mathilde Gremaud | Switzerland (SUI) | Women's big air Women's slopestyle | 2018–2022 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
Mikaël Kingsbury | Canada (CAN) | Men's moguls | 2014–2018 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
Jia Zongyang | China (CHN) | Men's aerials Mixed team aerials | 2010–2022 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
Qi Guangpu | China (CHN) | Men's aerials Mixed team aerials | 2010–2022 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
Justine Dufour-Lapointe | Canada (CAN) | Women's moguls | 2014–2018 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
Kelsey Serwa | Canada (CAN) | Women's ski cross | 2010–2018 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
Dale Begg-Smith | Australia (AUS) | Men's moguls | 2006–2014 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
Jennifer Heil | Canada (CAN) | Women's moguls | 2002–2010 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
Janne Lahtela | Finland (FIN) | Men's moguls | 1998–2002 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
Hannah Kearney | United States (USA) | Women's moguls | 2006–2014 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
Lydia Lassila | Australia (AUS) | Women's aerials | 2002–2014 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
Alisa Camplin | Australia (AUS) | Women's aerials | 2002–2006 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
Aleksei Grishin | Belarus (BLR) | Men's aerials | 2002–2010 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
Tae Satoya | Japan (JPN) | Women's moguls | 1994–2006 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
Edgar Grospiron | France (FRA) | Men's moguls | 1992–1994 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
Stine Lise Hattestad | Norway (NOR) | Women's moguls | 1992–1994 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
Li Nina | China (CHN) | Women's aerials | 2006–2014 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
Marie Martinod | France (FRA) | Women's halfpipe | 2014–2018 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
Shannon Bahrke | United States (USA) | Women's moguls | 2002–2010 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Dmitri Dashinski | Belarus (BLR) | Men's aerials | 1998–2006 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Yelizaveta Kozhevnikova | Unified Team (EUN) Russia (RUS) | Women's moguls | 1992–1994 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Nick Goepper | United States (USA) | Men's slopestyle | 2014–2018 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
× | NOC did not exist | # | Number of medals won by the NOC | – | NOC did not win any medals |
Nation | 1924–88 | 92 | 94 | 98 | 02 | 06 | 10 | 14 | 18 | 22 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Australia (AUS) | – | – | – | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 9 | |
Austria (AUT) | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | – | – | – | 1 | |
Belarus (BLR) | × | – | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 8 | |
Canada (CAN) | – | 3 | – | 2 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 7 | 5 | 30 | |
China (CHN) | – | – | 1 | – | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 17 | |
Czech Republic (CZE) | × | – | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | |
Estonia (EST) | × | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | – | 1 | |
Finland (FIN) | – | – | 2 | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | – | 4 | |
France (FRA) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 15 | |
Germany (GER) | – | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | |
Great Britain (GBR) | – | – | – | – | × | – | – | – | 1 | 1 | |
Japan (JPN) | – | – | 1 | 1 | – | – | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | |
Kazakhstan (KAZ) | × | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | – | 1 | |
New Zealand (NZL) | × | × | – | × | – | – | – | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
Norway (NOR) | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | – | 1 | 1 | 10 | |
Olympic Athletes from Russia (OAR) | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | 2 | × | 2 | |
ROC (ROC) | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | 3 | 3 | |
Russia (RUS) | × | 2 | – | – | 1 | – | 1 | × | × | 4 | |
Sweden (SWE) | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | 1 | – | 4 | 6 | |
Switzerland (SUI) | – | 1 | 1 | – | 1 | 1 | – | 4 | 5 | 13 | |
Ukraine (UKR) | × | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
Unified Team (EUN) | 1 | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | 1 | |
United States (USA) | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 8 | 33 | |
Uzbekistan (UZB) | × | 1 | – | × | × | × | × | × | × | 1 | |
Total | 1924–88 | 6 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 18 | 30 | 30 | 39 |
These are events in which athletes from one NOC won all three medals.
Games | Event | NOC | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2014 Sochi | Men's slopestyle | United States (USA) | Joss Christensen | Gus Kenworthy | Nick Goepper |
2014 Sochi | Men's ski cross | France (FRA) | Jean-Frédéric Chapuis | Arnaud Bovolenta | Jonathan Midol |
Freestyle skiing is a skiing discipline comprising aerials, moguls, cross, half-pipe, slopestyle and big air as part of the Winter Olympics. It can consist of a skier performing aerial flips and spins and can include skiers sliding rails and boxes on their skis. Known as "hot-dogging" in the early 1970s, it is also commonly referred to as freeskiing, jibbing, as well as many other names, around the world.
The 1992 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVI Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Albertville '92, were a winter multi-sport event held from 8 to 23 February 1992 in and around Albertville, France. Albertville won the bid to host the Winter Olympics in 1986, beating Sofia, Falun, Lillehammer, Cortina d'Ampezzo, Anchorage, and Berchtesgaden. The 1992 Winter Olympics were the last winter games held in the same year as the Summer Olympics. The Games were the fifth Olympic Games held in France and the country's third Winter Olympics, after the 1924 Winter Games in Chamonix and the 1968 Winter Games in Grenoble. This games was the first of two consecutive Olympic games to be held in Western Europe, preceding the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain.
Australia first competed in the Winter Olympic Games in 1936 in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, and has participated in every games since, with the exception of the 1948 Games in St. Moritz.
Australia competed at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States, winning its first two gold medals in the Winter Games. It was the nation's best performance at the Winter Games prior to the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.
Alisa Peta Camplin, is an Australian former aerial skier who won gold at the 2002 Winter Olympics, the second ever winter Olympic gold medal for Australia. At the 2006 Winter Olympics, Camplin finished third to receive a bronze medal. She is the first Australian skier to win medals at consecutive Winter Olympics, making her one of Australia's best skiers.
Australia competed at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy. The team of 40 athletes was the largest ever for Australia, surpassing the team of 31 that participated at the 1960 Winter Olympics.
Dale Begg-Smith is an Australian-Canadian businessman and former Olympic freestyle skier. Begg-Smith won the gold medal for Australia in the men's moguls event at the 2006 Winter Olympics and silver at the 2010 Winter Olympics.
Jennifer Heil is a Canadian freestyle skier from Spruce Grove, Alberta. Heil started skiing at age two. Jennifer Heil won the first gold medal for Canada in the 2006 Winter Olympics games in Turin, Italy and a silver medal at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, which was also Canada's first medal in those games. Jennifer held the Guinness World Record for most gold medals won at a World Championship. She has four world championship titles in total and two silver medals from the Worlds as well. Over her career, Heil became the first mogul skier to complete the "Grand Slam" winning all major titles in the sport including a record-tying five overall FIS World Cup Crystal Globe titles. Jennifer is a member of the Canadian Order of Sport, Alberta Sports Hall of Fame and Pantheon des Sports du Québec, inducted as the winningest female skier in Canadian history.
Lydia Lassila is an Australian Olympic freestyle skier gold medalist who competed in the 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014 and 2018 Winter Olympic Games. She is the 2010 Olympic champion and the 2014 bronze medalist in aerials.
Freestyle skiing has been contested at the Winter Olympic Games since the 1992 Winter Games in Albertville, France.
Canada has sent athletes to every Winter Olympic Games and every Summer Olympic Games since its debut at the 1900 games with the exception of the 1980 Summer Olympics, which it boycotted along with the USA and other countries. Canada has won at least one medal at every Olympics in which it has competed. The Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) is the National Olympic Committee for Canada.
Alexandre Bilodeau is a Canadian retired freestyle skier from Rosemere, Quebec, Bilodeau currently resides in Montreal, Quebec. Bilodeau won a gold medal in the men's moguls at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, becoming the first Canadian to win a gold medal at an Olympic Games held in Canada. At the 2014 Winter Olympics, he became the first Olympian in history to defend his gold medal in any freestyle skiing event as well as the first Canadian to defend an individual title since Catriona Le May Doan at the 2002 Winter Olympics. Bilodeau is a three-time FIS World Champion in dual moguls, and is also a two-time Worlds silver medallist in moguls. He was the FIS World Cup champion for the 2008–09 season winning the moguls and overall freestyle skiing title that season. In his final World Cup race, he retired with a win, and in doing so, surpassed Jean-Luc Brassard for the most World Cup medals by a Canadian.
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Justine Dufour-Lapointe is a Canadian freestyle skier. She was the Olympic champion in the moguls event at the 2014 Winter Olympics and won a silver medal in moguls at the 2018 Winter Olympics. The gold and silver she and her sister Chloe Dufour-Lapointe won in 2014 was the first time that Canadian sisters stood together on the podium, and the fourth time ever by all nations. In winning the Olympics, she became the youngest freestyle skiing Olympic champion ever at nineteen years of age. Dufour-Lapointe was the FIS World Cup rookie of the year for the 2010–11 season. Dufour-Lapointe was the world champion in moguls at the 2015 World Championships has also won a silver and two other bronze medals in the moguls event at the Freestyle World Ski Championships.
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The men's moguls event in freestyle skiing at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia took place on the 10 February at the Rosa Khutor Extreme Park in Krasnaya Polyana, Sochi.
Ski ballet is a form of ballet performed on skis. It is very similar to figure skating, combining spins, jumps, and flips in a two-minute routine choreographed to music. It was part of the professional freestyle skiing tours of the 1970s and 1980s and then an official FIS and Olympic discipline until the year 2000. Ski ballet became known as Acroski in the 1990s in an effort to legitimize its place among the competitive ski community, especially to the FIS. It is no longer a part of competitive freestyle skiing.