American skier Nick Goepper crashes hard on gold medal attempt

Nick Goepper risked it all in his final Olympic race.

The 35-year-old American skier was in the bronze medal position when he began his final race in the men’s halfpipe freestyle skiing Friday in Milan with a chance for the gold medal, but it ended in a crushing blow on his final trick.

Goepper landed everything successfully until his fifth and final jump, when he didn’t get enough height on his jump and landed hard on the halfpipe ledge.

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He lay on the snow for several minutes, and as hard as he crashed, everyone held their collective breath as he was tended to by the medical staff, who appeared ready to haul him away on a stretcher.

But Goepper got up on his own two feet, gave a thumbs up and a smile and walked off under his own power.

Unfortunately, insult was added to injury when Canada’s Brendan MacKay took over Goepper’s score to push him off the podium and take the bronze.

USA’s Nick Goepper on his final run during the Men’s Freeski Halfpipe Final at Livigno Snow Park, on day 14 of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics. (David Davies/PA Photos via Getty Images)

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It wasn’t all bad news for the Americans, however, as Goepper’s teammate, Alex Ferreira, took home the gold medal.

Goepper entered this year’s Games with three other medals — one each from Sochi, Pyeongchang and Beijing — but none of them gold.

The broadcast said the trick Goepper attempted had never been done in competition.

USA’s Nick Goepper receives medical attention after crashing while competing in freestyle skiing for the men’s freeski halfpipe final race 3 during the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics at the Livigno Snow Park, in Livigno (Valtellina), on February 20, 2026. (Jeff Pachoud/AFP via Getty Images)

“I have no regrets,” he seemed to say as he left the mountain.