Gold medalist Alex Ferreira of the United States reacts during the awarding ceremony after the freestyle skiing men's freeski halfpipe final at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Livigno, Italy, Feb. 20, 2026. (Xinhua/Zhang Hongxiang)

LIVIGNO, Italy, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- U.S. skier Alex Ferreira won the men's freeski halfpipe title at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics here on Friday.

Ferreira, who took silver at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics and bronze at the Beijing Winter Olympics, finally secured Olympic gold in the Livigno Snow Park with a winning score of 93.75 points. Estonia's Henry Sildaru finished second on 93.00, while Canada's Brendan Mackay, the 2023 world champion, claimed bronze with 91.00.

"They certainly didn't give it to me easy. I had to keep working. If they gave it to me in 2018, who knows if I would be here tonight. The universe has a weird way of working itself out. I'm just super grateful for this moment," Ferreira said after achieving his long-sought Olympic halfpipe gold.

In another event held at the Livigno Snow Park on Friday, Germany's Daniela Maier captured gold in the women's ski cross. Switzerland's Fanny Smith took silver and Sweden's Sandra Naeslund secured bronze.

"I had a lot of fun doing the runs and now I have something really beautiful golden around my neck. It's really nice," Maier said. She shared bronze with Smith at the previous Winter Olympics.

"Now we are standing here together on the podium again, which rounds off the whole thing perfectly," Maier added, referring to sharing the Olympic podium once more with Smith. ■

Alex Ferreira of the United States celebrates during the freestyle skiing men's freeski halfpipe final at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Livigno, Italy, Feb. 20, 2026. (Xinhua/Zhang Hongxiang)

Alex Ferreira of the United States competes during the freestyle skiing men's freeski halfpipe final at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Livigno, Italy, Feb. 20, 2026. (Xinhua/Xia Yifang)

Alex Ferreira of the United States competes during the freestyle skiing men's freeski halfpipe final at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Livigno, Italy, Feb. 20, 2026. (Xinhua/Xia Yifang)

Henry Sildaru of Estonia competes during the freestyle skiing men's freeski halfpipe final at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Livigno, Italy, Feb. 20, 2026. (Xinhua/Xia Yifang)

Henry Sildaru of Estonia competes during the freestyle skiing men's freeski halfpipe final at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Livigno, Italy, Feb. 20, 2026. (Xinhua/Xia Yifang)

Brendan Mackay of Canada competes during the freestyle skiing men's freeski halfpipe final at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Livigno, Italy, Feb. 20, 2026. (Xinhua/Xia Yifang)