Team USA’s Nick Goepper has secured Olympic qualification for his fourth Olympic Games following his victory at the FIS halfpipe World Cup in Calgary on 3 January, announced in a social media post by the U.S. Ski Team.*
The 30-year-old is a three-time Olympic medalist in slopestyle, having won gold at Sochi 2014 and silver medals at PyeongChang 2018 and Beijing 2022. After retiring following the Beijing Games, Goepper made a surprise return, this time committing fully to halfpipe.
Just 18 months after stepping away from competition, Goepper’s comeback gathered momentum in January 2025 when he captured X Games halfpipe gold ahead of teammate Alex Ferreira, the two-time halfpipe Olympic medalist.
Goepper has now earned six World Cup halfpipe podiums with two wins including this pivotal win at Calgary.
Goepper joins Ferreira as the two Americans who have secured qualification for the highly competitive U.S. men’s halfpipe team headed to Milano Cortina 2026.
Beyond the discipline shift, Goepper has also embraced a more open and authentic public persona. Speaking to Olympics.com, he reflected on the change:
“I decided to be my authentic self on the snow, online, with people, with sponsors, and not care what other people think. And if people want to gravitate to that, then amazing.
I think these days it’s so important to express your personality and to show the audience who you are, rather than just the ruthless competitor.”
*As National Olympic Committees have the exclusive authority for the representation of their respective countries at the Olympic Games, athletes’ participation at the Milano Cortina 2026 Games depends on their NOC selecting them to represent their delegation at Milano Cortina 2026.
