Freestyle skiing at Gangwon 2024 Youth Olympic Games: Preview, full schedule, top athletes, and how to watch live YOG action
Dual moguls make their debut on the Youth Olympic programme while park and pipe athletes tussle to become the next superstar like triple Olympic medallist Eileen Gu. Find out all the details of the upcoming freeski competition in our preview.
Freestyle Skiing
The Lausanne 2020 Winter Youth Olympic Games (YOG) saw the rise of freestyle skiing superstar Eileen Gu.
The double Youth Olympic champion went on to repeat the same result on the Olympic stage two years later, at Beijing 2022, fuelling the ambitions of hundreds of teenagers who are hoping to follow the same trajectory.
Olympics.com scoped out the upcoming freeski competition at Gangwon 2024 to give you all you need to know about the future superstars to watch, competition venues and format, and how to follow the action live on Olympics.com and the official Olympics app.
Freestyle skiing venues and dates at Gangwon 2024
The competitions in the park and pipe disciplines will be held at the Welli Hilli Park Ski Resort in Hoengseong, while dual moguls will take place at the Jeongseon High 1 Ski Resort.
Jeongseon is also hosting the alpine skiing competitions at Gangwon 2024 and boasts an impressive Olympic pedigree as one of the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Games legacy venues.
Welli Hilli is one of the few Gangwon 2024 venues that was not used during PyeongChang 2018. However, it is also well-established as a winter sports host with FIS world championships and World Cups to its name. It will also host the freestyle snowboard park and pipe competitions during these Youth Olympic Games.
The freestyle skiing competition begins on Tuesday, 23 January with the ski cross events. The park and pipe events kick off the following day with slopestyle, while dual moguls start on 26 January.
Big Air and halfpipe are among the other highlights on a packed freestyle skiing schedule.
Freestyle skiing competitions at Gangwon 2024 Youth Olympics
Twelve sets of medals will be awarded in the freestyle skiing events: three in ski cross, three in dual moguls, and two each in Big Air, slopestyle, and halfpipe.
Dual moguls and mixed ski cross are making their Youth Olympic Games debut at Gangwon 2024.
In dual moguls, two sets of medals will be handed out to individual athletes with another set of medals on offer in the mixed event where teams of two will compete in a head-to-head format. Forty athletes are set to take part.
A field of 44 athletes is set to compete in the Big Air and slopestyle events. The skiers get three attempts in Big Air with the two highest scores added up for the total score, while in slopestyle there are two runs with the top score counting.
Thirty-two athletes are due to compete in halfpipe.
Gangwon 2024: Freestyle skiers to watch
Flagbearers Flora Tabanelli and Charlie Beatty will be among the fresh faces hoping for a breakthrough at Gangwon 2024.
Italy's Tabanelli is already hailed as a medal prospect for her home Olympic Games at Milano Cortina 2026 and comes to the competition with an impressive medal collection, including junior world gold in Big Air and silver in slopestyle. The first made her the first female junior champion from Italy.
Beatty was the youngest skier ever to join Canada’s freestyle team. He is the 2023 junior world champion in slopestyle and also boasts solid results on the Nor-Am Cup circuit. Even when not skiing, he can often be spotted on the sidelines at competitions acting as the MC.
Among Beatty's competition in slopestyle and Big Air will be New Zealander Finley Melville Ives who is set to compete in all three park and pipe events. Melville Ives has had four Top 10 finishes on the senior World Cup since his debut in December 2022 and will also enjoy a good support network at Welli Hilli where his twin brother Campbell is competing in the snowboard freestyle events.
Kathryn Gray also promises to be a strong contender in the park and pipe events. The USA freestyler won medals in all three events at the 2022 junior world championships and has had two Top 10 finishes on the senior World Cup already, including a sixth place in Secret Garden behind winner Eileen Gu.
German teenager Muriel Mohr is another athlete who is familiar with competing against seniors. She finished sixth at the 2023 FIS Freestyle Ski and Snowboarding World Championships in Big Air and made the Top 10 in slopestyle at the senior World Cup. She also won the junior world title in slopestyle in 2023 and two silvers, in Big Air and slopestyle, at the 2021 edition.
Full freestyle skiing schedule at Gangwon 2024
All times are Korea Standard Time (UTC/GMT +9 hours) and are subject to change
Tuesday 23 January
- 11:00-14:45 – Men's / Women's ski cross
Wednesday 24 January
- 09:45-16:00 – Women's slopestyle
- 10:45-12:15 – Mixed team ski cross
Thursday 25 January
- 09:45-16:00 – Men’s slopestyle
Friday 26 January
- 13:00-15:05 – Mixed team dual moguls
Saturday 27 January
- 10:15-14:45 – Qualification Men's / Women's Big Air
- 10:30-15:20 – Men's / Women's dual moguls
Sunday 28 January
- 10:15-15:45 – Men's / Women's Big Air
Wednesday 31 January
- 10:15-15:45 – Men's / Women's halfpipe
How to watch freestyle skiing at Gangwon 2024 Youth Olympic Games
Action from all 13 competition days at Gangwon 2024, including every competition taking place at the Welli Hilli Park Ski Resort, will be streamed on dedicated feeds on Olympics.com and on the official Olympics app for mobile devices.
You can also watch full replays on demand on Olympics.com and catch highlights, reaction interview clips, news articles, and full results sections across the website and official Olympics social media accounts.