Mackay saves his best run for last, claims first Olympic medal

Brendan Mackay stood at the top of the hill with one run standing between him and the end of the competition in the men’s ski halfpipe.

The 28-year-old had finished first in the qualifying round, but his first two runs of final left him positioned off the podium.

“It’s always a bit stressful up there,” Mackay said when asked about his mindset directly before the last run. “I was trying really, really hard to just stay calm, and focus on what I was planning to do.”

READ: Brendan Mackay wins bronze in men’s ski halfpipe

Mackay needed to eclipse 89 points—the score set by American Nick Goepper which positioned him in third.

With the eyes of the freeski world on him, Mackay rose to the occasion.

He was given a score of 91.00 points to claim the final spot on the podium. Thirteen years after making his debut on the FIS World Cup circuit, Mackay won bronze for his first Olympic medal.

“That was definitely the best run I’ve ever done, so very stoked.”

Mackay’s self-proclaimed career-best run featured five tricks that were a perfect display of amplitude, style and execution. The Calgary native routinely reached over five metres in the air on his jumps.

“It felt amazing, it felt really big. I got all my grabs. It was my first time ever doing back-to-back double-cork 1620s… yeah, I was very happy with it.”

The two double-cork 1620s were Mackay’s third and fourth tricks. After executing them back-to-back, the crowd at Livigno Snow Park went into a frenzy. 

Mackay ended with a smooth leftside alley-oop frontside 540 with a mute grab, and let out a fist pump before being embraced by his teammates.

“I’m always like, blasting music in my ears and I have my noise-cancelling headphones,” he said. “I kind of took just an extra breath and appreciated how cool it was to get to drop last and close off the Olympic Games. I don’t know if I’ll ever get to do that again.”

Over the last few years, Mackay has been one of the most consistent competitors in freeski halfpipe, racking up a number of accomplishments including winning a Crystal Globe in 2021-22, and becoming a world champion in 2023.

Mackay made his Olympic debut at Beijing 2022, but finished ninth in halfpipe in the halfpipe final.

American Alex Ferreira was the gold medal winner on Friday as his score of 93.75 in his final run came in just over two points ahead of Mackay. Estonia’s Henry Sildaru took silver. Goepper, attempting to improve upon his second run score, suffered a hard crash during one of his final tricks. Thankfully, he was able to walk off the course on his own two feet.

All three of the Canadian finalists – Mackay, Andrew Longino, and Dylan Marineau – hail from Calgary, so the sense of camaraderie in the final moments were strong.

Longino emerged as a darkhorse to medal after his first run score of 76.50 placed him first after one run. Unfortunately, the 23-year-old crashed in his final two runs, and he was eventually pushed down the standings. His seventh place finish, however, is two spots higher than his placement at the 2025 FIS World Championships.

“I knew that score wasn’t going to be enough,” he said. “I was going for a medal for sure. Unfortunately on that last run, my ski came off and I took a heavy slam. Sometimes those things happen.”

Marineau couldn’t fully complete any of his runs, finishing 11th, but did his best to give the crowd a good show.

The two first-time Olympians skiers are surely hoping the fate of their next Olympic appearance follows the same story as Mackay’s.