Ski Cross, Men

There was no clear favorite for the men’s skicross event at the 2022 Beijing Games. The defending Olympic champion was Canada’s Brady Leman, but his best result since had been runner-up at the 2019 World Championships. The reigning World Champion was Alex Fiva of Switzerland, who was also the oldest competitor in this event in Beijing, but several other skiers, including leaders Térence Tchiknavorian of France and Ryan Regez, also of Switzerland, were performing better at the World Cup.

Fiva won the seeding round, followed closely by Russia’s Igor Omelin, Japan’s Ryo Sugai, and Leman. Regez was seventh and Tchiknavorian was further down in 12th. Sugai and Tchiknavorian were both eliminated in the 1/8 final, while Omelin dropped off in the quarterfinals. The biggest surprise came when Leman failed to advance beyond the semifinals.

This left Regez, Fiva, Sergey Ridzik of Russia, and Erik Mobärg of Sweden as the four finalists. Ridzik had been the bronze medalist at the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics, while Mobärg had achieved the same result at the 2021 World Championships. The race for gold effectively came down to the two Swiss competitors, with Regez capturing gold and Fiva taking silver. Ridzik, meanwhile, slid into the final podium spot to repeat his performance from 2018.