Olympic Skier Nick Goepper Involved In Horrific Crash

Originally posted on The Spun | By Tzvi Machlin | Last updated Feb 20, 2026 3:31 PM ET

Triumph turned to disaster and nearly a tragedy in an instant at the men's freestyle skiing halfpipe at the Winter Olympics today.

Entering the third round of runs in the final, three-time Olympic medalist Nick Goepper was in bronze medal position with a score of 88.00 and tried to deliver a gold medal-worthy run to surpass the leading score of 93.75. It seemed like he was going to do it but he may have miscalculated his final wall jump.

Rather than hitting the inside of the pipe, Goepper's skis caught the edge of the wall - as did his entire lower half. Goepper crashed and sank into the middle of the pipe, where emergency personnel quickly attended to him.

It was a brutal scene that had the audience gasping and the wider sports world terrified.

American Nick Goepper managed to walk off after this scary fall in the men's skiing halfpipe finals. pic.twitter.com/gwdrXXEWBf
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) February 20, 2026

Miraculously, Goepper was able to get up and walked off the pipe with some help from the medical staff. Most importantly, he had movement in all of his extremities.

Fans on social media were just grateful that he managed to get up after that.

As for Goepper, he declared that he has "no regrets" after giving it his all to go for gold.

"I have no regrets."

Team USA's Nick Goepper after going all out for a potential halfpipe gold medal that he just couldn't stick. pic.twitter.com/Xr2wfsw47U
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) February 20, 2026

A promising run cut short

Sadly, adding insult to the injury is that if Goepper had been able to complete that trick he might have won the Olympic medal or at least reached the podium. Instead, his score of 88.00 was bested on the very next run by Canada's Brendan Mackay's 91.00, bumping him off the podium.

Feb 20, 2026; Livigno, Italy; Nick Goepper of the United States reacts after his run during the men's skiing halfpipe final during the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at Livigno Snow Park. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images© Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

In the end, Team USA's Alex Ferreira (93.75) claimed gold, Estonia's Henry Sildaru (93.00) got the silver and Mackay secured bronze.

But while Goepper didn't come away with any medals, he appears to have come away with his health intact. That should be enough of a win after that crash.

This article first appeared on The Spun and was syndicated with permission.

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