Eagle County’s Ollie Martin sails to finals in Olympic big air event

Red Gerard was just 17 years old eight years ago when he shocked the snowboarding world by stomping his final run to win the men’s slopestyle gold medal at the 2018 Winter Olympics. The Silverthorne rider is no longer an unknown teenager and started competition Thursday, Feb. 5, in the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy as one of the top names in his sport.

Competing in the qualification round of the men’s snowboard big air event, one of the first competitions of the Olympics and a day before even the Opening Ceremonies, Gerard was nudged out of the chance to advance to the finals by a new crop of young, talented athletes. The one who delivered the final blow to Gerard: Ollie Martin, a 17-year-old sensation riding for Ski and Snowboard Club Vail from his hometown in Wolcott.

Martin nailed his second two runs of the three-run competition to edge past two of his American teammates, Gerard and fellow Summit County rider Jake Canter. Each rider got three attempts at the big air jump. The top two scores from each athlete were combined and the top-12 scoring athletes advanced to the final, which is set for 11:30 a.m. Saturday.

Martin’s trip to the finals was surprising not because of his age, but because of his first jump, where he couldn’t handle his landing and scored near the bottom of the 30-rider field. He aced his next two attempts, however. He landed a backside 1800 on his second jump, scoring at 82.25. Then he nailed a frontside 1800, five full spins, for a score of 85.25.

His combined score of 167.50 set him in ninth place. Gerard was sitting in 12th at the time of Martin’s third attempt, right on the line to advance, but Martin’s score dropped him down and out of the hunt. Gerard was at his best on his second jump, a backside 1800 that scored at 83.50. He couldn’t get the same rotation on his first or last jumps, however, both backside 1620s. They scored at 70.75 and 72.00.

Support Local Journalism

Donate

He finished up in 19th with a combined best-two-run score of 155.50. Canter, meanwhile, was 14th, just on the outside of the cutline for finals. The 22-year-old Silverthorne rider, who’s competed with the Aspen Valley Ski and Snowboard Club, was facing a lot when the event started. Not only was it his debut in an Olympic event, he was also the very first rider to take to the course.

He passed that test with flying, or, as it was, swirling, colors. He spun five and a half times and hit the landing on a 1980. It was one of the best single tricks of the competition and had him in third place after the first run. He couldn’t duplicate the magic, however. He landed his second run but scored lower, 71.25. Aiming for a big trick on his final attempt, he slipped on the landing, throwing out his arms into the snow as he tilted toward his toes.

Canter’s final combined score was 160.25. Gerard’s was 155.50. The 12th-place finisher, Australian Valentino Guseli, scored at 163.00. It made for quite a day for Guseli, who got his spot in the competition only hours before it started. Canada’s Mark McMorris, one of the event favorites and a three-time Olympic medalist, scratched after a hard crash sent him to the hospital on Wednesday. 

Japan’s Hiroto Ogiwara was the day’s top qualifier with a score of 178.50. He’ll be joined in the finals by three other Japanese riders, Kira Kimura, Taiga Hasegawa and Ryoma Kimata, a trio of New Zealanders in Lyon Farrell, Rocco Jamieson and Dane Menzies, China’s Yiming Su, Italy’s Ian Matteoli and Canada’s Francis Jobin.

The good news for Gerard and Canter: They not only have another event, but their best, looming. Both will compete starting Feb. 16 with qualifications in the snowboard slopestyle event. The finals for slopestyle are set for Feb. 18. Gerard has been a fixture in the top 10 in slopestyle on the World Cup and has an Olympic fourth-place finish to go along with that gold medal from 2018. Canter won his most recent World Cup slopestyle competition.

This story is from SummitDaily.com.