Norway's Birk Ruud Advances to Big Air Final for 3rd Gold

Birk Ruud just made his bid for Olympic greatness look easy, qualifying third for Tuesday's freestyle skiing big air final at the Milan Cortina Games with skill and style to spare.

The Norwegian freeskier landed both his required jumps on Sunday night in Livigno, Italy, then celebrated with a spontaneous head-over-heels forward flip just for the fun of it. That's the kind of confidence you have when you're already wearing one gold medal from these Games and hunting for another.

Ruud won big air gold in Beijing four years ago and kicked off his Milan Cortina campaign with a slopestyle victory on Tuesday. Now he's 12 competitors away from joining an elite group of back-to-back Olympic champions in his sport.

"It was a really good qualifying. I landed my two runs and felt real good about it," Ruud said after his performance on the massive scaffolding ramp that towers more than 131 feet above the Italian slopes.

The final promises fierce competition. American Mac Forehand topped qualifying with 183 points, while Austria's Matej Svancer claimed second place. New Zealand's Luca Harrington, fresh off his own bronze medal in slopestyle, finished fifth to keep his medal streak alive.

The nighttime event showcased freestyle skiing's spectacular evolution, with riders launching off the illuminated ramp and spinning through the floodlit sky. Each athlete had three attempts to land their two best jumps, combining technical precision with creative flair.

Why This InspiresRuud's journey reminds us that excellence doesn't require being serious all the time. His playful celebration flip after landing a crucial Olympic qualification shows that joy and peak performance aren't opposites. They're partners. At 25, he's already a two-time Olympian who competes with both fierce determination and genuine fun, proving you can chase history while still remembering why you fell in love with the sport in the first place.

The big air final takes place Tuesday, giving Ruud two days to prepare for what he's calling "a tough battle" with "big tricks" on the line. His competitors know what's coming. The Norwegian has already proven twice this year that when the stakes are highest, he delivers.

History awaits on that 131-foot ramp, and Birk Ruud is ready to fly.