LIVIGNO, Italy — Picture, for a moment, being among the elite freestyle skiers globally. A previous recipient of a gold medal, no less.
Now envision landing in Italy to safeguard that championship title — in the land of your mother’s birth, crucially — discovering a slopestyle track featuring challenges so formidable that you managed to execute your planned maneuvers only once in every ten attempts during training.
Such was the mental state of Alex Hall on Monday evening: A victor beset by uncertainties, yet paradoxically liberated from the pressure accompanying the quest to replicate his achievement from Beijing four years prior.
This particular event wasn’t an occasion for Hall to cautiously plan or tactically advance towards a medal. It demanded an all-out effort, from the initial descent to the finish line, expending every ounce of energy.
“I retired for the night with the full awareness that my chances of securing a medal were exceedingly low,” he commented. “Given the exceptional skill of all competitors and the complexity of the routine I intended to execute, the likelihood of successfully landing it was minimal.”
And if that was destined to be the outcome, Hall accepted it gracefully. For even within the distinct community of freeskiers, Hall embodies a remarkably relaxed demeanor.
His sole passion is skiing, truly. While contests offer accolades, prospects, and financial rewards, after clinching gold in Beijing with a daring, highly lucrative performance now legendary in the discipline, he simply brought it back and placed it in a drawer with his socks.
Birk Ruud of Team Norway takes 1st place, Alex Hall takes 2nd place, Luca Harrington of Team New Zealand takes 3rd place on day four of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Livigno Air Park. (Millo Moravski/Agence Zoom via Getty Images)
(Millo Moravski/Agence Zoom via Getty Images)
Victory or defeat? They hold almost identical weight. In a discipline so unpredictable — a single performance, assessed by individuals incapable of executing Hall’s feats — one merely persists in experimenting, hoping that precisely at the opportune instant, it might suffice for triumph.
“Throughout the quadrennium between Olympic cycles, there wasn’t a single day where I felt compelled to think, ‘I must practice to secure another medal’ or ‘I need to train to surpass this competitor,’” he stated. “I simply intend to go skiing, and since I enjoy it, in a sense, it felt natural because the daily anticipation of skiing was motivation enough.”
That constitutes a commendable philosophy for living, would you agree?
This mindset also proved remarkably successful on Tuesday, with Hall complementing his Beijing gold with an Italian silver, missing out on first place by just 0.53 points to Norway’s Birk Ruud, recognized as the premier slopestyle skier globally over the past few years.
“Perhaps, in a sense, I feel even greater satisfaction regarding this,” Hall remarked, gesturing to the medal adorning his neck while navigating a barrage of interviews. “I am genuinely impressed with my ability to maintain pace with the current caliber of competition. The stunts executed in slopestyle routines today were considered big air maneuvers just two or three years ago, so my capability to remain competitive with the younger generation and perform a routine I’m truly content with is quite remarkable. Departing with any medal represents a significant accomplishment.”
Naturally, it would have been an idyllic narrative for Hall to secure another gold, especially in this location. His mother originates from Bologna, and he possesses an Italian passport. He passed a considerable portion of his youth in Europe, acquiring skiing skills directly across the frontier in Switzerland, where his parents served as university academics.
Among all competitors sporting the Team USA emblem at these Games, none experienced a greater sense of belonging in this environment.
“It has the sensation of a familiar location, a place I’ve previously visited,” he commented. “In certain respects, it simply feels like another day on the slopes, which is truly wonderful and enables you to, in a way, relax and genuinely savor the experience.”
This essence defines freeskiing: athletes mutually encouraging one another to flawlessly complete their sequences, execute their stunts, and permit the officials to distinguish the minute, almost undetectable variances separating a commendable showing from an exceptional one.
“Within our discipline, each competition typically yields a unique victor,” noted American Mac Forehand, who placed eleventh. “Consistency is completely absent. Simply achieving a podium finish is a monumental feat regardless of the specific event.”
Nevertheless, it speaks volumes about the 27-year-old Hall that he has delivered some of his most impressive performances on two separate occasions at the pinnacle of the sport.
And falling short by merely half a point against Ruud, a technically near-flawless skier who consistently makes these maneuvers appear significantly less challenging than they are?
Hall departs with absolutely no lingering uncertainties.
“Absolutely none, as I was aware the routine I attempted was so demanding that I’m astonished I even managed to land it in three attempts,” he stated. “When executing such a difficult sequence, one simply loses awareness. You initiate the descent, everything you did slips your mind, and you find yourself at the bottom. You truly don’t recall the specifics. I acknowledged a minor error within it, but I wasn’t certain of its magnitude.”
The adjudicators imposed minimal penalties on Hall, and his score of 85.75 remained the second-highest, even after ten other participants had their opportunities to surpass him.
“We consistently support one another and invariably wish for everyone to execute their finest performances,” Hall expressed. “The sequence I performed, while not as flawless and precise as my Beijing routine, instilled in me the knowledge, in the months preceding the Olympics, that I would be thrilled with any medal. And there’s considerable merit in simply feeling enthusiastic about one’s skiing style.”
