Medal in Big Air

BRONZE! Matej Svancer gives Austria cause for celebration

Matej Svancer leaves Livigno with a bronze medal around his neck.(Bild: APA/EXPA, GEPA)

Cool, cooler, Matej Svancer! The 21-year-old freeskier jumped to Austria's 17th Olympic medal in the Big Air competition. On Tuesday, the Salzburg native was only beaten by Tormod Frostad from Norway and Mac Forehand from the US.

Matej Svancer is the first Austrian freestyle skier to win a medal at the Olympic Games in Italy. The 21-year-old took bronze in the Big Air competition at Livigno Snow Park. In an impressive final on Tuesday, only Norway's Tormod Frostad and the US's Mac Forehand achieved better scores. Frostad scored 195.50 points, while Svancer scored 191.25 after three jumps.

Matej Svancer jumped to Olympic bronze on Tuesday.(Bild: GEPA)

Matej Svancer(Bild: EPA/ALEX PLAVEVSKI)

"It feels incredibly good," said Svancer in his first TV interview with ORF. The bronze medalist explained that he had not practiced his last two tricks beforehand. "They were created at very short notice because the others wouldn't have been enough, or because others had already done them. That's why I was very surprised to land both of them." Svancer agreed when asked if it had been the best competition he had ever taken part in. "I've never seen so many crazy tricks in one place, never in my whole life. Normally, something like that doesn't happen."

Furious aerial maneuvers in the snow
At times, heavy snowfall accompanied the final, which was scheduled for the evening. In the qualification round, Svancer had taken second place with 182.25 points and thus started second to last on the kicker. For a backward Tail Butter Triple Cork 1800 in the first run, a flight with five full rotations, Svancer received 91.75 points and was ranked fifth.

Mac Forehand, Tormod Frostad, and Matej Svancer (from left to right)(Bild: AP/Abbie Parr)

Olympic debut
He then followed this with a left-handed drag triple cork 1980 – a trick that no athlete had ever performed before. With 95.25 points, last season's overall World Cup winner moved up to third place in the interim rankings. Svancer capped off his aerial display with a Switch Left Tail Butter Triple Cork 2160 and a whopping 96.0 points. However, Forehand received 98.25 points for his 21 and remained ahead of the Austrian.

"I was standing at the top and already had a medal, so of course I wanted to go all the way to the top. So I pulled out the hardest trick I had left in my repertoire, or rather, the one I had landed once," said Svancer. "It worked for the second time, so I had a 100% success rate. But then Mac went one better – and that was also very exaggerated."

Ruud dethroned by compatriot
For Svancer, who was born in Prague but moved with his family to Pinzgau in Salzburg as a child, it was his first Olympic medal. Four years ago in Beijing, he was already one of the favorites in the big air event, but at the age of 17, he didn't quite make it.

Matej Svancer won Austria's 17th Olympic medal.(Bild: AP/Gregory Bull, GEPA pictures)

Speaking of Beijing: Norway's Birk Ruud, the 2022 Olympic champion, who had already won slopestyle gold in Livigno, had to settle for eighth place this time. The oldest of the twelve finalists at 25, he was dethroned by his compatriot Frostad, who has never won a World Cup event.