Watch This Previously Unimaginable ‘Backward Finish’ Where Olympic Skier Wins by… Skiing Backwards Across Finish Line
Olympic dual moguls delivered dramatic moments in both the men’s and women’s events. In the men’s first-ever dual moguls competition, Japan’s Ikuma Horishima advanced too the final and claimed silver after a chaotic finish where American Nick Page was disqualified for missing a gate. Horishima had been wobbly on his first jump, recovered, but struggled on the second; he nonetheless crossed the finish line while skiing backwards, which left him ahead of page due to the DQ. The format was single-elimination, meaning losers exited the competition after their rounds. The event was highlighted by social-media reactions, including NBC’s televised commentary of the surprising finish.
In the women’s dual moguls, American Jaelin Kauf appeared poised to contend, but Perrine Laffont of France missed a gate and was disqualified. With Laffont out, Kauf finished and was reported to have taken silver as a result of the disqualification. The coverage noted Horishima’s bumpy performance in the finals and his disappointment at not finishing the second attempt. The New York Times and other outlets underscored the novelty and unpredictability of dual moguls on this Olympic stage.
A Japanese skier won his Olympic race going backwards across the finish line.
In the men’s dual moguls event on Sunday, Ikuma Horishima was competing against American skier Nick Page, according to Yahoo Sports.
In this first-ever dual moguls competition at a Winter Olympics, Horishima ended up making it to the finals, where he won a silver medal after losing to Canadian Mikael Kingsbury.
“I CAN’T BELIEVE MY EYES.” 😳
Dual moguls madness as Nick Page skis out of the course for a DNF while his opponent, Ikuma Horishima, barely stays in control and skis over the line BACKWARDS for the win. pic.twitter.com/hFqqi5gnQE
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) February 15, 2026
As noted by The New York Times, the dual moguls event is one in which two skiers compete down a bump-filled slope and perform acrobatics after the fly off ramps. Sunday was the day a single-elimination competition took place, which meant the end of the Olympics for the losers.
Horishima was wobbly after his first jump, but regained control.
He then approached the second jump, where the landing did not work out as planned.
He recovered from his crash to regain his footing, but by that time he was skiing backwards.
Still going backwards, Horishima crossed ahead of Page.
In the end, as long as Horishima finished he would have won, because Page missed a gate during an uneven run and was disqualified for a rules violation.
The female dual moguls event had a similarly bizarre incident.
American Jaelin Kauf crashed, which seemed to wipe out her chances, but her opponent, Perrine Laffont of France, missed a gate and was disqualified.
That meant that once Kauf finished, regardless of her time, she was the winner.
She eventually won a silver medal.
As noted by The Japan News, Horishima had a bumpy ride in the finals, but this time fortune did not smile upon him.
He lost his balance and never made it to his second attempt at a jump.
“I’m so disappointed that I could not race through until the end,” he said.
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