American skier Nick Goepper suffers a serious fall in his attempt to win the gold medal

Nick Goepper risked everything in his last Olympic race.

The 35-year-old American skier was in the bronze medal spot when he began his final run in the men’s halfpipe freestyle skiing competition on Friday in Milan with a chance to win the gold medal, but ended with a crushing blow on his final trick.

Goepper landed everything successfully until his fifth and final jump, when he didn’t get enough height on his jump and landed hard on the edge of the halfpipe.

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He lay in the snow for several minutes and, no matter how hard he crashed, everyone held their breath as he was attended to by medical staff, who seemed ready to carry him out on a stretcher.

However, Goepper stood up, gave a thumbs up and smiled and walked away under his own power.

Unfortunately, insult was added to injury when Canadian Brendan MacKay beat Goepper’s score to knock him off the podium and take bronze.

USA’s Nick Goepper on his final run during the Men’s Freeski Halfpipe Final at Livigno Snow Park on Day 14 of the Milan Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games. (David Davies/PA Images via Getty Images)

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But it wasn’t all bad news for the Americans, as Goepper’s teammate Alex Ferreira took home the gold medal.

Goepper entered this year’s Games with three other medals, one from Sochi, one from Pyeongchang and one from Beijing, but none of them gold.

The broadcast said the trick Goepper attempted had never been done in competition.

American Nick Goepper receives medical assistance after crashing while competing in the third men’s freestyle ski halfpipe final race during the Milan Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at the Livigno Snow Park in Livigno (Valtellina), February 20, 2026. (Jeff Pachoud/AFP via Getty Images)

“I don’t regret it,” he seemed to say as he walked down the mountain.