Alessandro Haemmerle wins back-to-back Snowboard Cross titles in repeat of Beijing  1-2 finish

Alessandro Haemmerle (AUT) retained his Snowboard Cross crown with a perfectly timed finish ahead of Eliot Grondin (CAN) as they repeated their 1-2 of Beijing 2022 at the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Livigno.

The Austrian bided his time in the Big Final and came through after the final jump to cross the finish line 0.03 ahead of Grondin, four years after he beat the Canadian by 0.02.

Jakob Dusek made it an Austria 1-3 as he nailed a superb bronze only five months after partially rupturing his ACL in mid-September. He also bruised a bone in his heel and knee which meant he missed almost his entire on-snow preparation. Longtime leader Aidan Chollet (FRA) was fourth.

Haemmerle joins Seth Westcott of the USA and France’s Pierre Vaultier as a two-time Olympic champion with only three men topping the podium since the event was introduced at Torino 2006.

It was an action-packed day in Livigno with Aidan Chollet leading Grondin and Leon Ulbricht (GER) through the seeding run and Haemmerle safely through in seventh.

Dusek led the first quarterfinal but it needed a photo finish to separate French teammates Aidan Chollet and Merlin Surget with the former getting the decision.

Nathan Pare (USA) appeared to have headed the second race but a jury review concluded he’d taken a risky line which resulted in Lucas Eguibar (ESP) crashing out. It wasn’t considered intentional but he was demoted to fourth under race interference rules with French team-mates Loan Bozzolo and Jonas Chollet progressing.

Lorenzo Sommariva (ITA) and Nick Baumgartner (USA) made it through the third quarterfinal with Grondin and Haemmerle meeting in the final race where the Canadian won in a photo finish.

The Chollet brothers led in the early stages of the first semifinal. Aidan Chollet won with Dusek getting the decision over the Frenchman’s younger brother Jonas in another photo finish.

Grondin sped away in the second semi and booked his place in the Big Final but it took a photo finish to separate Haemmerle and 44-year-old Baumgartner.

Loan Bozzolo won the Small Final after a duel with French team-mate Jonas Chollet followed by Baumgartner and Lorenzo Sommariva.

The Big Final

Grondin had started superbly all day, putting clear daylight between himself and the rest of the field as he navigated the rounds. However, it was Aidan Chollet who was fastest out of the gates followed by Grondin with Haemmerle playing a waiting game.

The Austrian made his move and came around the outside with three men almost in a line at the final jump with Haemmerle timing his finish to perfection and Dusek coming past Chollet.

Haemmerle hails from Montafon which will host the 2027 FIS Snowboard, Freestyle and Freeski World Championships.

"Unbelievable,” he said. “I’m not sure how I made it. It was so tight all the time, but it was great racing with Eliot once again. “The big final was a big, big fight. I’m happy to come out on top.”

Grondin now has two silvers and a bronze across the individual and mixed team events.

He said there was “a lot of emotion” sharing the podium with Haemmerle once more having lost out on top spot by 0.05 behind the Austrian across two Olympic Winter Games.

Dusek said: "As a child, I dreamed of winning a medal at the Olympics, and to be able to stand on the podium here today is incredible. I'm super, super happy." 

Up Next:

Women’s Snowboard Cross competition takes place tomorrow, featuring 32 of the world’s best riders lining up.

• 10:00 CET seeding runs begin.

• 13:30 CET Finals get underway