Gus Kenworthy has reversed his retirement decision to compete at his fourth Winter Olympics, securing a spot on the Team GB squad for Milan-Cortina 2026. The 34-year-old, who called time on his skiing career after the 2022 Games, made a comeback in December and has now been selected.
Born in Chelmsford but raised in the United States after moving there at age two, Kenworthy initially represented the USA, earning silver at the 2014 Sochi Olympics. He switched allegiance to Team GB in 2019 and went on to win the freestyle halfpipe event at the Calgary Ski World Cup the following year.
Alongside his sporting career, Kenworthy has built a presence in acting, appearing in nine episodes of American Horror Story in 2019 and guest-starring on RuPaul's Drag Race. After nearly four years away from competition, he returned to the slopes in December, finishing 34th, 4th, 12th and 8th in World Cup events in China, the US and Canada.
Snowsport head coach Pat Sharples praised Kenworthy's achievement, telling him in a phone call: "I said the only person I knew who could do it in that time limit would have been you – and you did it." Kenworthy shared the conversation with his 1.2 million Instagram followers.
Kenworthy gained widespread attention at the 2018 PyeongChang Games by kissing his then-boyfriend Matthew Wilkas on live television. He came out as gay in a 2015 ESPN interview, later reflecting: "I never got to be proud of what I did in Sochi because I felt so horrible about what I didn't do. I didn't want to come out as the silver medalist from Sochi. I wanted to come out as the best freeskier in the world."
The Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics run from February 6 to 22, with freestyle skiing events beginning on February 7. Kenworthy will be competing in his second Olympics as a Team GB athlete.
