Jake Canter Is Headed To The Olympics

When Jake Canter rode in the Rockstar Energy Open, he got to take a break from the constant grind of the usual contests.

Instead of focusing on laying down the most technically difficult tricks possible, he could shift his focus to laying down the most stylish run possible. It was refreshing, he said, and it allowed him just to read the course and react with what he thought would look cool, as opposed to mapping out an entire run.

Apparently, that was just what he needed, because after winning the Toyota U.S. Grand Prix in men’s slopestyle, he has mathematically locked in a spot on the 2026 Olympic team.

Canter beat out powerhouse rider Su Yiming on the way to his first-place finish. In his second-to-last run, Canter put down a run that included a 50-50 to front lipslide 270, a back 270 on 270 off, a switch back 1260 nosegrab, back 1800 melon, and a switch noseslide 630 Weddle on the final section.

That was good enough for an 85.16. That score launched him into the top spot as Su dropped in. He stomped his run, but came up less than a point short with an 84.18.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/me9b8CJ2M50

The win was in front of a home crowd, as he grew up in Silverthorne, Colorado. Canter joins Red Gerard as the two men who have secured spots in Italy for the Olympics next month. Chloe Kim has also already locked in her spot.

The Laax Open goes off this week in Switzerland. That contest will help determine the final spots on the Olympic roster.

As for the rest of the American men, Judd Henkes finished in fourth place. Gerard finished in sixth, and Brock Crouch ended the day in eighth place. Dusty Henricksen took 14th place and Sean FitzSimons 15th place, respectively.

For the women, Canadian Laurie Blouin took the top spot. Japan’s Mari FUkada won second, and Kokomo Murase took third. Australian Mela Stalker crept into fifth place, and Americans Jess Perlmutter and Jamie Anderson finished in seventh and eighth.

Anderson did suffer a heavy slam on a rail that forced her to skip her second run. Perlmutter fell on that same rail, but pieced together a run on her second try to finish her first-ever slopestyle contest.