- February 8, 2026
- 11:50 am
- World News
Snowboarding at the current Olympics is no longer an “alternative discipline” but a showcase of the sport’s technological evolution. The height of jumps, the number of spins, the risk riders take β everything has increased literally in one cycle. Judges openly say: old programs today don’t even make it to the top finals.
The first starts showed the main thing β Asian teams arrived as prepared as possible and brought content that was previously considered fantastic.
Big Air became an arena of super tricks
The men’s Big Air turned into a competition of complexity versus stability. Many favorites “fell” precisely on the attempt to increase the base value of the jump, rather than on the purity of execution.
The victory was taken by the Japanese Kira Kimura. His series with a powerful switch rotation at 1900 became the very moment after which competitors had to take excessive risks. The result β the best total score of the day and gold.
Silver went to another representative of Japan β Ryoma Kimata. Bronze went to the Chinese leader Su Yiming, who held on due to phenomenal amplitude and confident landings.
The gap between the top three and the rest is noticeable. This is already a different level of school.
What has changed in the sport itself
Coaches talk about three factors.
The first is air time. Modern parks allow for longer flight time, which means adding more spins.
The second is preparation. Young riders are growing up in the era of trampoline centers, video simulations, biomechanics.
The third is psychology. If before an athlete chose a reliable set, now without a maximum bid, you’re just a statistic.
In the qualifications, this was especially harsh: cautious ones were eliminated.
Not only Big Air: a tight schedule ahead
Next β parallel giant, slopestyle, halfpipe, boardercross. And the scenarios there may be different.
For example, in the halfpipe, Americans are traditionally stronger due to their school and depth of lineup. In boardercross, Europeans often excel β the discipline is contact-based, tactical, with an element of chaos. And in slopestyle, much is decided by the creativity of the lines.
That is, the dominance of one country in all snowboarding is already impossible.
Where is Israel in this
There are no Israelis in snowboarding, but the Olympics itself is important for understanding the direction of winter sports development in the country. Federations need to understand what complexity standards will become the base in four years.
It is such tournaments that form the training programs for teenagers. What to learn today so as not to fall behind tomorrow.
Within the Israeli sports community, this is discussed separately β budget, infrastructure, search for a new generation of coaches.
Why even those far from the mountains watch these competitions
Because it’s television-perfect.
Speed is understandable without commentary. Mistakes are immediately visible. Risk is physically felt. And each attempt is like a separate final.
Add to this young stars who calmly go for tricks beyond the possible, and you get a discipline that increasingly competes in ratings with classic sports.
What’s next
If the start of the tournament set such a bar, the finals could become historic. Several athletes have already stated that they will raise the complexity even higher.
This means one thing: we will no longer see safe runs.
What do you think, where is the limit? How many spins can a person actually control in a real jump β and will the judges have to change the scoring system again?
