Ben Harrington has successfully made it to the men’s freeski halfpipe final after a thrilling finish to the second run at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy.
In a challenging competition, three out of the four New Zealand athletes lost a ski in at least one of their two runs. Each athlete’s ranking is based on their best run, with only the top 12 out of 25 advancing to the final round.
Harrington led the New Zealand team after a flawless first run placed him at 9th. Despite dropping to 12th place in the second run, he anxiously waited as other competitors finished their rounds.
Reaching the finals left Harrington with “an incredible feeling.”
“My main goal was to land some solid runs. After undergoing knee surgery just over a year ago, getting back here was a challenging journey, but we made it,” he said.
Speaking to the cameras on the slopes, Harrington dedicated his second run to teammate Fin Melville Ives, who unfortunately had his final aspirations shattered after a fall resulted in him being carried off the snow.
“Hey Finski, this one’s for you, brother. Love you, let’s go skiing,” Harrington expressed.
Melville Ives was the first competitor to enter the halfpipe but lost a ski in both runs, placing him at 24th. Following the second significant fall, he was evaluated by medical staff and taken off the snow on a stretcher.
After the event, the New Zealand Olympic Team provided an update on his condition on social media, confirming that he was “stable and positive.”
Head coach Tom Willmott mentioned that “he took a significant blow,” revealing that the 19-year-old had been knocked unconscious.
“He’s receiving excellent care, our team doctor is with him, his mom is with him, and he’s doing okay. He was knocked out, but he’s conscious now, talking, and doing okay. He’s undergoing thorough checks, scans, x-rays, and other tests to rule out any potential issues,” Willmott stated.
“Qualifying was postponed due to snow yesterday [Friday NZT], so today was the big day. He was using qualifiers as a warm-up for the main event tonight [the finals, Saturday morning NZT], and he was fully committed, going all out.
“It’s about fine margins, he was pushing his limits. He will be devastated, he will be heartbroken. But he will bounce back from this because he’s a true warrior.”
Fellow New Zealanders Gustav Legnavsky and Luke Harrold also failed to qualify, finishing 14th and 15th, respectively.
Harrold’s first run put him in contention for the finals after securing the 11th spot, but he lost a ski in the second run.
“It was a challenging day out there,” he remarked. “Training went well, but unfortunately, I couldn’t execute the run I wanted in the two attempts. I want to thank everyone who supported me throughout my journey; it’s been quite remarkable. I couldn’t deliver today for you all, but I know I will eventually.”
Legnavsky, 20, also lost a ski in his initial run, and despite a clean second run, he couldn’t break into the top 12.
“I’m pretty disappointed… I know I have more in me,” he expressed.
The competition involves athletes performing tricks while skiing down a semi-cylindrical slope.
The final was scheduled for 7:30 am on Saturday, February 21st (NZT).
Kiwi Nico Porteous clinched gold in the event at the previous Winter Olympics in Beijing in 2022.
New Zealand has already secured three medals in this year’s games.
On Thursday, Zoi Sadowski-Synnott made history by becoming the most decorated Olympic snowboarder with a silver medal in the women’s snowboard slopestyle event.
Luca Harrington brought home bronze in the men’s freestyle skiing slopestyle last week, following Sadowski-Synnott’s silver in the big air event, which was New Zealand’s first medal of the games.
