A “living nightmare” was unfolding before Alex Ferreira’s eyes. The 31-year-old’s last run in the men’s freeski halfpipe final had put him in gold-medal position but there were still three competitors to go. “I hated it,” he said. “I hated every second of it.”
In the crowd, stood his family and childhood friends. “I couldn’t breathe,” said one. “It’s the only time I’ve prayed to God in four years,” said another.
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The American watched his compatriot, Nick Goepper, slam on top of the deck and fall out of contention for gold. There were still two athletes to go. Estonia’s Henry Sildaru could not better his second run, which left just Canada’s Brendan Mackay.
When Mackay landed his run, Ferreira, who had won silver and bronze at the last two Winter Olympics, thought the elusive gold medal was gone. But then came the score. Finally, he’d completed the Olympic set, his 93.75 score edging Sildaru by 0.75 of a point. From the stands his father Marcelo, a former Honduras national team soccer player, started chanting: “Al-ex, Al-ex, Al-ex!”
Throughout his life, Ferreira has toiled. Despite his 10 World Cup victories and three X Games golds, the pinnacle of the sport outside the Olympics, he told reporters he had felt overlooked. “People didn’t look at me as a champion,” he said.
But as an Olympic gold medalist he has written himself in the history books.
Ferreira’s sister, Lourdes, thought he seemed calm going into Friday’s competition. But her brother did not feel it. He woke up with an excruciating headache and felt sick with nerves. He described the experience, up until the medal ceremony, as “the worst day of (his) life.”
Ferreira, however, had put everything into this day. In elementary school he was the best soccer player and athlete, his friends Michael Mondry, Dan Schwartz and Garrett Goldsmith, in the crowd at Livigno Snow Park, told The Athletic. They describe him as “outgoing,” “friendly,” and “positive,” a man who is “built differently,” not necessarily from a physical perspective but mentally. Ferreira was not a halfpipe teenage prodigy, according to Schwartz, but “outworked every single person.”
“He’s dedicated his entire life to this. That’s why he’s here,” he said.
“He’s got that dog in him!” said Goldsmith, a nod to the 1970s fictional ski legend Hotdogs Hans which Ferreira created at the beginning of the global pandemic to bring some humor into people’s lives.
Michael Mondry (left), Dan Schwartz (second right) and Garrett Goldsmith (right). (The Athletic)
For a long time, Ferreira’s approach to life was to party with friends in the summer and return to the ski season in winter. But a year after his bronze at the 2022 Winter Games, he had a cycling accident while intoxicated. It was a serious wake up call. “I quit drinking,” he told Time. “I quit going out partying. Quit chasing girls. Quit everything.”
Since then he has been laser-focused on just one thing. “It was gold or bust,” said Goldsmith.
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“There’s a time to have fun and there’s a period when you really have to work hard and be extremely diligent,” said Ferreira.
The only activity Mondry has done with his friend recently is joining him in his sauna and steam room routine. Ferreira stretches, visualizes his halfpipe runs and talks only in positive terms about his skiing. “I was sick of people not taking me professionally, so I started treating myself way more professionally,” said Ferreira. “Then I got the respect I wanted.”
In 2025, Ferreira won his second consecutive, and third overall, Crystal Globe title, an award for the year’s best-performing World Cup skier. “I thought I had peaked way too early,” he said, and so did his mom. “I bet you wish the Olympics was this year,” she told her son. His father reminded him: “You have to win the Olympic gold.”
Alex Ferreira said he felt the pressure going into his final run. (Millo Moravski / Agence Zoom / Getty Images)
Ferreira said he felt the pressure. He maintained his form heading into these Games and in the final the American, from Aspen, Col., recited his mantras: “I am greatness, this is my moment.” He bettered his score on every run. “I could feel it in my bone marrow,” he said.
Heading into the final run, Ferreira was second on 90.50. He knew he had to deliver and attacked on his third attempt. “I just pushed, pushed, pushed, pushed myself right to gold,” he said.
But beneath his steely mentality is an “incredibly nice guy,” said bronze medallist Mackay, who recounted how supportive Ferreira has been over the last decade.
“My parents taught him to be kind, loving and humble every single day,” said his sister. “You’re not special. It’s just being human. Go for it.”
The day Ferreira won gold was the “best moment” of his life and “100 times better than I ever thought it would be,” he said.
As for what comes next, the three-time Olympic medalist said competing is all he has known for the last 20 years. “It’s the most beautiful feeling in the world because you can’t pay for it. You have to earn it. We’ll see.”