Free Skier Alex Ferreira Really, Really, Really Wants That Gold Medal

When U.S. free skier Alex Ferreira was asked this past August how badly he needed an Olympic gold medal to cap off his career—he owns a silver and a bronze from the last two Games—he did something rare and refreshing. Ferreira dispensed with the usual pablum, about not focusing on results, taking it one day at a time, enjoying the journey and what have you. “It’s time to complete the set,” Ferreira, 31, told TIME. “I’ve dedicated my entire life to the sport and to being the best of the best. That is the one achievement that eludes me at the moment. It’s the first thing I think about when I wake up, and the last thing I think about when I go to sleep at night. It completely consumes my mind, probably in an unhealthy way.” 

In 2025, Ferreira won his third Crystal Globe as the best halfpipe skier on the planet. It was his second consecutive title. So he’s set to contend for his elusive prize at the Milano Cortina Olympics; the halfpipe freeski final is on Feb. 20, in Livigno, Italy. 

Ferreira insists he’s trained his mind to ease the pressure. “I’ve seen it a million times in my head,” he says. “I’ve spoken it into reality a million times through affirmation. I, Alex Ferreira, will be the 2026 gold medalist.”

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Born and raised in Aspen, Colo., Ferreira can still picture the first time he did a 360 off snow. He was 10. “I remember it being the most euphoric feeling in my entire life,” he says. At that moment, Ferreira says, he knew what he wanted to do with his life. “I loved it because there was so much freedom,” he says. “You could go as fast as you wanted, you could catch as much air as you wanted. And then once I started figuring out the tricks in the air, I figured, ‘Oh my gosh, this is a feeling you can’t buy.’ And I still feel that way to this day. It’s like floating through air, and you’re creating art with your body.”

Ferreira made his Olympic debut at the 2018 PyeongChang Games; he earned a silver, finishing second behind teammate David Wise. But it’s possible you’ve seen him outside the Winter Games too: Around the beginning of the COVID pandemic, Ferreira created an alter ego, Hotdog Hans, a crotchety old skier who wreaks havoc around resorts. (Hotdog Hans was inspired by Kyrie Irving’s Uncle Drew character.) “People are dying, people are sick, people are upset,” says Ferreira. “We needed to bring some comedy and some humor into everyone’s lives.” Some of the more off-color clips have captured more than 12 million views. Hotdog Hans 6, a short film, was released on YouTube in January: Ferreira, in character, heckles Jonny Moseley, the 1998 Olympic gold medalist in moguls. 

As he approaches his third Olympics, Ferreira is aware of just how easily he could have lost this opportunity. More than a year after winning bronze in Beijing, he attended his 10-year high school reunion and crashed his bike while intoxicated. He went to the emergency room because he couldn’t lift his arm. While waiting for MRI results, he worried that the accident would do serious damage. “I’m sitting there thinking, ‘Wow, what a foolish way to end my season prematurely and potentially my career,’” says Ferreira. “I quit drinking. I quit going out partying. Quit chasing girls. Quit everything. I just dedicated everything that I possibly had to my sport and to my craft and to being a true champion. So I had to learn the hard way. And honestly, it was a blessing in disguise.” He won the next two halfpipe Crystal Globes.

Ferreira hasn’t had a drink since that night in August 2023. He may celebrate hard after a gold-medal win, before reeling it back in. “It’s going to be a glorious, glorious day and party,” says Ferreira. “People can expect to see greatness. That’s what I see in myself.”