Two New Zealanders have booked their spots in the men's freeski slopestyle final at the Winter Olympic Games in Italy.
Meanwhile, three Kiwis in the Big Air snowboarding final were unable to convert their runs into medal-winning scores, continuing New Zealand's bid for a medal at Milan Cortina 2026.
Ben Barclay, who served as one of New Zealand's flagbearers during the opening ceremony, finished seventh, while defending X Games gold medalist Luca Harrington finished ninth.
The duo were comfortably inside the top 12 to advance to the final.
Kiwi teenager Lucas Ball failed to progress to the final, finishing 20th out of 28.
Speaking to 1News after qualifying, Barclay said he was relieved to have made the final after what he described as an "incredibly nerve-wracking" wait.
"It was scary, but super fun out there, and I’m stoked to have made it through," he said.
Barclay said he and his coach would review his runs ahead of next week’s final in the hope of lifting his performance.
The slopestyle discipline tests athletes across a purpose-built course featuring rails and jumps, with judges assessing overall difficulty, creativity and execution.
Harrington was more critical of his outing after competing, telling 1News his run "wasn’t my best skiing".
"I managed to put something down during my run that got me a decent score," Harrington said.
“Unfortunately, I couldn’t clean it up during my second run, so that was a stressful wait."
When asked about fellow skier Barclay, Harrington said he was excited to compete alongside his long-time friend in the finals.
"He’s pretty much a brother to me, I’m on tour with him most of the year and I see him more than my own family," he said.
"It’s such a pleasure to be competing with him in the finals."
The Freeski slopestyle final is set to take place next Wednesday, February 11 at 12.30am NZT.
Kiwis miss out on medals in Big Air final
New Zealand’s hunt for a medal at Milan Cortina 2026 continues, with three Kiwis missing out on the podium in the men’s Big Air snowboarding final.
Lyon Farrell, Rocco Jamieson and Dane Menzies all qualified for the final but failed to convert their runs into medal-winning scores.
First-time Winter Olympian Dane Menzies finished sixth, the best result of the trio, and said he was left disappointed after his run after failing to land his final trick.
"I’m pretty happy to put my first two tricks down, but pretty bummed at the same time to not land my third one," Menzies said.
"I laid it all out there and it didn't work out in the end, but sixth is pretty good so I'm stoked."
Farrell and Jamieson ended the competition in eighth and ninth respectively, with both riders coming unstuck on two of their three attempts
The pair said they were happy to have had the chance to compete and felt grateful to do so alongside fellow New Zealanders.
Japan’s Kira Kimura took home the gold medal ahead of fellow Japanese rider Ryoma Kimata and China’s Su Yiming.
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