Nick Goepper ouch #WinterOlympicGames pic.twitter.com/FoPLTlQg5I
— Matt Gale (@gale858155) February 20, 2026
Nick Goepper snatched defeat from the jaws of victory at the men’s Freeski Halfpipe Final. In a dramatic reversal, the Indiana native closed out a potentially medal-winning run with a brutal crash and a trip to the medic.
Goepper’s finals had gotten off to a promising start. The American scored a 29.25 on his first run, followed by an 89.00 on his second. With the podium in sight, the third and final run would be his make or break moment.
That last run seemed to be going well, too, until the final jump proved to be his undoing. After a strong start, Goepper decided to close it out with a switch double misty – a difficult trick that would have secured him a competitive score. However, a misaligned re-entry ended the attempt with Goepper landing squarely on his hip on the halfpipe lip. From there, he tumbled to the bottom, where he lay motionless for a few moments, as the shocked commentators and crowd looked on.
“That would have been maybe the hardest halfpipe trick ever landed in competition,” said the NBC commentator, as medical personnel rushed to Goepper’s aid. Though he seemed to be taking the fall well, getting up to his feet and joking with medical staff as he was helped off the course, Goepper ended up skipping post-event interviews.
Goepper’s teammate, Alex Ferreira, would go on to win the event with 93.75.
