Gus Kenworthy. Photo: Instagram
Freestyle skier Gus Kenworthy’s Olympic comeback hit a high-stakes peak this weekend at the U.S. Grand Prix in Aspen.
Kenworthy qualified for the Aspen final by the “slimmest of margins,” placing 6th in his heat with a score of 76.75. In the final on January 10, he secured an 8th-place finish, keeping his hopes alive for the 2026 Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics.
This result provides crucial ranking points as he continues his self-funded journey to represent Team GB.
After retiring following the 2022 Beijing Games due to injuries and post-concussion syndrome, the 34-year-old is now on the verge of qualifying for his fourth Olympics. To secure his spot, he must meet several rigorous criteria:
FIS Requirements: He has already secured the minimum 50 FIS pointsrequired for the season.
Performance Benchmarks: His 8th-place finish in Aspen adds to a strong season that includes a 4th-placefinish at Copper Mountain and a 12th-placefinish in Calgary.
National Ranking: He is currently the No. 1 ranked British skierin the men’s halfpipe (sitting at No. 13 globally), placing him in the “pole position” for the single quota spot allocated to Team GB.
The International Ski Federation (FIS) will officially confirm the Olympic quota spots on January 19, 2026.
Before the Games begin in Italy on February 6, Kenworthy is scheduled for one final major test at the X Games Aspen (January 23–25).
He has teased a “dream run”—a high-difficulty technical sequence he has been perfecting specifically to challenge the world’s elite one last time on the global stage.
