Kiwi freeskier Fin Melville Ives suffered a broken collarbone and was briefly knocked unconscious during a fall in the men’s freeski halfpipe final at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, his mother has confirmed. The 19-year-old, considered a gold medal favourite and the reigning world champion, crashed on the third trick of his second run.
Karen Melville Ives told 1News her son was recovering, stating, “He has a broken collarbone and a bit of a broken heart.” Coach Tom Willmott provided an update following medical evaluations, saying Melville Ives was conscious and communicative after the incident. “He’s doing okay. He was knocked out, but he’s conscious right now, he’s talking, and he’s doing okay. He’s getting full checks, scans, X-rays, all the rest of it, just to fully rule anything out,” Willmott said.
The crash occurred during a competition ultimately won by American Alex Ferreira, who scored 93.75. Estonia’s Henry Sildaru took silver with 93.00, and Canada’s Brendan Mackay secured bronze with a score of 91.00. Fellow New Zealand team member Ben Harrington dedicated his second qualifying run to Melville Ives, finishing ninth overall. Harrington, who underwent knee surgery just over a year ago, described making the finals as “an insane feeling.”
Gustav Legnavsky and Luke Harrold also represented New Zealand in the event, finishing 14th and 15th respectively and failing to advance to the final round.
New Zealand has so far achieved three medals at the 2026 Winter Olympics. Zoi Sadowski-Synnott claimed silver in the women’s snowboard slopestyle, becoming the world’s most decorated Olympic snowboarder in the process. Luca Harrington secured a bronze medal in the men’s freestyle skiing slopestyle event, and Sadowski-Synnott also earned a silver in the huge air competition.
