Park City Freeskiers Miss Cut for Olympic Women's Big Air Final

Grace Henderson, Marin Hamill, and Rell Harwood finish outside the top 12 in qualification round.

Published on Feb. 15, 2026

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Three freeskiers from Park City, Utah - Grace Henderson, Marin Hamill, and Rell Harwood - failed to qualify for the final of the Olympic women's big air competition in Livigno, Italy on Saturday night. Henderson finished 14th, Hamill 22nd, and Harwood 23rd, with only the top 12 advancing to the final on Monday. 17-year-old Avery Krumme was the fourth U.S. entry and finished 19th.

Why it matters

The U.S. women's freeski team was hoping to medal in the big air event, but came up short in the qualification round. This continues a trend of American struggles in the discipline, as the country has yet to win an Olympic medal in women's big air since it was introduced at the 2018 Games.

The details

Henderson landed her first two runs for a combined score of 139.25, while Hamill landed all three of her runs but only managed a 115.50 total. Harwood crashed on her first run but fought back to complete her final two runs, finishing with a 101.25 combined score. The top two scores from each skier's runs counted towards their final total.

  • The qualification round took place on Saturday, February 14, 2026.
  • The big air final is scheduled for Monday, February 16, 2026 at 7:30 PM CEST (11:30 AM MST).

The players

Grace Henderson

A freeskier from Park City, Utah who finished 14th in the Olympic women's big air qualification round.

Marin Hamill

A freeskier from Park City, Utah who finished 22nd in the Olympic women's big air qualification round.

Rell Harwood

A freeskier from Park City, Utah who finished 23rd in the Olympic women's big air qualification round despite skiing with a torn ACL.

Avery Krumme

A 17-year-old freeskier who was the fourth U.S. entry and finished 19th in the Olympic women's big air qualification round.

Kateryna Kotsar

A Ukrainian freeskier who qualified for the big air final and got engaged to her boyfriend Bogdan Fashtryga after her final run.

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What they’re saying

“I tore my ACL in December, so I'm skiing without an ACL right now. So, it's been a lot of ups and downs. 'Will I even make it here? Am I able to ski?' So to go and put down some of my hardest tricks still feels really amazing.”

— Rell Harwood, Freeskier (Park Record)

“My knee and heel hurt a little bit from it. That just makes it a little bit harder to keep going and doing the tricks you want to when you can't really trust yourself at speed. But, I was happy to land some jumps and try my best.”

— Marin Hamill, Freeskier (Park Record)

“It's definitely a really different experience of what I experienced in Beijing. It was really special because you can hear everyone yelling at the top. It's really fun.”

— Marin Hamill, Freeskier (Park Record)

“I told myself it's a win-win situation because the halfpipe is afterwards. That's my strong event. Half of my training completely overlaps in big air finals. … It means I'm missing out on a full three hour (halfpipe) session.”

— Eileen Gu (Park Record)

What’s next

The men's Olympic big air final is scheduled for Tuesday, February 17, 2026, and the U.S. women's freeski team plans to attend and cheer on their male counterparts.

The takeaway

The U.S. women's freeski team was unable to qualify any athletes for the Olympic big air final, continuing a trend of American struggles in the event. However, the athletes remain determined to push each other to new heights and close the gap to stars like China's Eileen Gu in future competitions.