LIVIGNO, Italy – Alessandro Haemmerle of Austria secured his second consecutive Olympic gold medal in men’s snowboardcross on Thursday, narrowly defeating Canada’s Eliot Grondin in a finish reminiscent of their previous Olympic showdown. The winning margin at Livigno Snow Park was a mere 0.03 seconds, continuing a pattern of incredibly close races between the two rivals.
Grondin, who had been in a strong position approaching the final roll, appeared poised to avenge his loss from the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. However, Haemmerle demonstrated a late surge, closing the gap and edging ahead in the final meters. Four years ago in Beijing, Haemmerle had won by 0.02 seconds.
Austria completed a strong showing on the podium with Jakob Dusek claiming the bronze medal. The close competition meant France’s Aidan Chollet, also a contender, finished just off the podium.
The race highlighted the unpredictable nature of snowboardcross, a discipline where four riders navigate a course filled with banks and jumps. Riders advance through bracketed rounds, with the top two from each heat progressing until a final four compete for the medals.
Grondin entered the Olympics as a top contender, having won the 2024-25 Crystal Globe and the 2025 world championship. Haemmerle had secured bronze at the world championship, setting the stage for their highly anticipated rematch.
The competition also saw the participation of American Nick Baumgartner, the 44-year-ancient 2022 Olympic mixed snowboardcross champion, who reached the semifinals before being eliminated.
Haemmerle’s victory marks him as one of the few snowboardcross athletes to achieve back-to-back Olympic gold medals, joining American Seth Wescott (2006, 2010) and Frenchman Pierre Vaultier (2014, 2018) in this exclusive group. Haemmerle expressed his surprise at the closeness of the race, stating, “Unbelievable. I’m not sure how I made it. It was so tight all the time, but it was great racing with Eliot, once again.”
Grondin acknowledged the intense rivalry, saying, “It’s been tight with him, but he’s been one of my biggest rivals since I started racing snowboard cross at the high level, so at least losing against him probably hurts a little less than some other people.” He also reflected on the narrow margins, noting the races were separated by only 0.05 seconds across two Olympic finals.
Sunday will spot Austrian snowboarder Benjamin Karl compete to defend his gold medal in the men’s parallel giant slalom.
