Hunter Hess crashes out in freestyle halfpipe final after addressing Trump ‘loser’ label

Hunter Hess’ Olympic dream has been put to bed.

In Friday’s men’s halfpipe final, the 27-year-old didn’t have a clean first run, and his second didn’t go any better.

Hess bobbled on a landing and fell to the snow in his first run, which gave him a low score of 27.25.

Following a few jumps on his second run, he fell on a landing, completely losing his right ski an sealing his fate with a “Did Not Improve.”

In halfpipe, the skier’s best run out of two is taken as the final score, leaving him in 10th in of the 12-skier field.

Hess’ finish came after he finished his qualifying run by holding an “L” to his forehead, a nod to President Donald Trump calling him a “loser” after his comments regarding the U.S.’s immigration policies.

2026 WINTER OLYMPICS

“If it aligns with my moral values, I feel like I’m representing it,” he said. “Just because I’m wearing the flag doesn’t mean I represent everything that’s going on in the U.S.”

Americans Alex Ferriera and Nick Goepper took bronze and silver behind Estonia’s Henry Sildaru.

Irving Birk finished in fourth, barely missing the podium for the U.S.