Australian snowboarder Valentino Guseli has secured a place in the men’s big air final at the 2026 Winter Olympics after a dramatic last-minute call-up and a stunning final jump. The 20-year-old, who suffered an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury in late 2024, had missed qualification for the big air and slopestyle events but was elevated following a training crash involving Canadian snowboarder Mark McMorris.
Guseli learned of his inclusion just three hours before the qualification event on Thursday in Livigno, Italy. With only eight practice runs, he delivered a switch backside 1980 tailgrab on his third and final jump, scoring 91.50 points to secure the last spot in the 12-man final. The score was the second highest of the day, behind only Italian Ian Matteoli’s 93.75.
“The last 24 hours have been insane,” Guseli said. “I only got eight runs of training because I didn’t train before I found out I was in. The last run that I had was probably one of the most amazing moments of my life.” He added that the opportunity came “miraculously” after receiving McMorris’s start, vowing to “do something special with it.”
Guseli is also a strong medal contender in the halfpipe, having won a World Cup event in Calgary and placed sixth at the Beijing 2022 Games, where he made his Olympic debut. The final for the big air begins on Sunday, with Guseli’s combined total of 163 points ensuring he became the first Australian to compete at the 2026 Games.
