Three-time Olympic ski slopestyle medalist Nick Goepper claimed his inaugural World Cup victory in halfpipe, spearheading the first U.S. podium sweep of a freestyle skiing World Cup outside of the U.S. in almost two decades. Goepper triumphed at the Secret Garden, the 2022 Beijing Olympic venue, with an impressive 95-point run that featured the first […]
Three-time Olympic ski slopestyle medalist Nick Goepper claimed his inaugural World Cup victory in halfpipe, spearheading the first U.S. podium sweep of a freestyle skiing World Cup outside of the U.S. in almost two decades.
Goepper triumphed at the Secret Garden, the 2022 Beijing Olympic venue, with an impressive 95-point run that featured the first switch right bone air 900 tail performed in competition, as reported by the International Ski and Snowboard Federation.
He was closely followed by two-time Olympic medalist Alex Ferreira and two-time Olympic gold medalist David Wise.
The last time the U.S. achieved a sweep at any freestyle skiing World Cup held outside of the U.S. was on January 9, 2005 — with Ryan St. Onge, Jeret “Speedy” Peterson, and Joe Pack in aerials in Mont Tremblant, Canada.
The Goepper-Ferreira-Wise podium represented the third U.S. podium sweep in men’s halfpipe within the past year. Ferreira, Hunter Hess, and Goepper accomplished one in Mammoth Mountain, California, on February 2. Ferreira, Hess, and Birk Irving did the same on December 15 in Copper Mountain, Colorado.
Goepper, 30, declared in November 2023 his return from a 10-month retirement and transition from slopestyle — where he secured Olympic medals in 2014 (bronze), 2018 (silver), and 2022 (silver) — to halfpipe.
No American has earned a medal in an individual event at four separate Winter Olympics.
Goepper made history as the oldest man and the first in his 30s to win a World Cup in a freeski event (halfpipe, slopestyle, big air), surpassing the age record previously set by Ferreira last season.
Furthermore, Goepper became the first American to defeat Ferreira in competition since the January 2023 Winter X Games.
Last season, Ferreira triumphed in all seven of his competitions and became the first U.S. male freestyle skier to complete an undefeated World Cup season in an event featured in the Olympic program.
Wise, 34, renewed his record as the oldest man to secure a spot on a World Cup ski halfpipe podium, marking his first since February 2023. Wise clinched the first two Olympic gold medals in halfpipe, which debuted in the Olympics in 2014.
The upcoming World Cup is scheduled in two weeks at the Toyota U.S. Grand Prix at Copper Mountain, to be broadcast on CNBC and Peacock.
Three-time Olympic skiing medalist Nick Goepper returned from retirement to participate in a new event.
