LIVIGNO, Italy – The men’s mogul skiing competition reached a critical stage Tuesday in Livigno, Italy, as athletes battled for 20 coveted spots in the finals scheduled for February 12th. Among those vying for a place on the Olympic stage was Winter Park native Jackson Harvey, who finished 23rd out of 30 competitors with a score of 69.26.
Harvey now faces a final opportunity to qualify for the finals, needing to place within the top ten in the second round of qualifiers on Thursday. The top 20 skiers will then advance to three rounds of finals to determine the medalists.
American Performance in the First Round
The American team experienced a mixed bag of results in the initial round of qualifying. Nick Page of Park City delivered a strong performance, securing a fifth-place finish with a score of 77.50 – mirroring his result from the 2022 Beijing Olympics. Breckenridge skier Dylan Walczyk also demonstrated experience, landing in seventh place with a score of 76.67, an improvement from his 16th-place finish in 2022.
Charlie Mickel of Durango narrowly missed automatic qualification, finishing 11th with a score of 75.31, closely followed by Landon Wendler of Park City in 12th place with 75.08. Both skiers will have a second chance to advance during Thursday’s qualifiers.
The competition was dominated by Ikuma Horishima, the gold medal favorite, who posted a commanding score of 85.42 – more than five points ahead of his nearest rivals, Canadian skiers Julien Viel and veteran Mikael Kingsbury. Kingsbury, a seasoned competitor, previously won gold in Sochi in 2018 and silver in both 2014 and 2022.
The second round of qualifiers is set to begin at 2 a.m. Mountain Time on February 12th, with the finals commencing shortly after at 4:15 a.m. Mountain Time.
Understanding the Moguls Final Format
The moguls final is structured in three rounds, designed to progressively narrow the field and identify the top three skiers. The ten skiers who successfully navigate the second round of qualifiers will move on to compete in the finals.
In the first round of the final, the 20 competing skiers will be reduced to 12. The second round will further trim the field to just six skiers. Finally, the remaining six athletes will compete in a third and decisive round, with the scores from this final run determining the medal winners. Importantly, scores from previous rounds do not carry over, ensuring that each run is judged independently.
