Team USA prepares for ‘must-watch’ women’s Olympic big air and slopestyle

When asked for her most poignant Olympic memory during a press conference on Tuesday, Lily Dhawornvej started describing Zoi Sadowski-Synnot gold-medal winning slopestyle run from four years ago.

“I remember getting my mind blown,” the 16-year-old said.

In a few days, the Ski and Snowboard Club Vail snowboarder will compete against the Kiwi superstar at the Games herself.

“Never would have thought,” Dhawornvej stated. The women’s snowboard big air qualification rounds begin on Sunday, with the finals taking place one day later at Livigno Snow Park in Italy. Slopestyle is slated for Feb. 16.

Two of the three women on Team USA are SSCV raised. Hahna Norman — who was born in Truckee, California but has been a club athlete for several years — joins Dhawornvej and 16-year-old New Jersey native Jess Perlmutter.

“I’ve somehow acquired the nickname ‘unc,'” said Norman, who is the squad’s veteran at the age of 21.

“It’s kind of crazy to be the oldest one, but it’s also really cool. I think U.S. women’s slopestyle and big air is in good hands,” Norman continued. “Even last night in practice they were just getting after it. It makes you want to get after it as well.”

All three Americans enter the Olympics with significant momentum. Perlmutter burst onto the scene in Aspen, where she finished seventh in the slopestyle on Jan. 10 in her World Cup debut and won X Games gold in the knuckle huck two weeks later. Dhawornvej has eight top-10 World Cup finishes to her name, won a bronze medal in the knuckle huck at the 2025 X Games and claimed her first World Cup podium in the final Olympic qualifier last month in Laax, Switzerland.

“I kind of just went into that competition trying to have fun,” said Dhawornvej, who, along with Norman, also represented the U.S. at the world championships last year. Norman’s route to her first Olympics hasn’t exactly been smooth sailing. She watched the 2022 Beijing Games from her couch with a freshly torn ACL.

“I think adversity — it’s part of the game. It’s a challenging sport with lots of risk. Unfortunately I’ve had my run-ins with some injuries over the years,” the 2023 slopestyle national champion said. “So, it’s been a challenge for sure to feel like I’m getting somewhere in the sport and then have it taken away and have to build back from the ground up. But it definitely makes this opportunity that much better. I’m so grateful to be here.”

This isn’t Norman’s first time in Italy, though. Her family moved to Rome when she was 10 so her dad could work for a local soccer club. Having learned to snowboard at 8, the three-year hiatus from riding confirmed her need for it.

“It was through those three years that I realized I really missed the sport,” she said, adding that when she came back to the U.S., she decided to see how far she could take her talents.

FIS: Women’s Olympic big air will be must-see TV

FIS labeled the women’s big air event as “one of the most must-watch competitions of the entire Games.” The four headliners are Sadowski-Synnot, along with reigning world champion Kokomo Murase, defending big air and overall crystal globe winner Mia Brookes and Japan’s Mari Fukada.

Murase recently won the X Games big air in Aspen — where she became the first woman to land a backside triple cork 1620 in competition — and finished one spot ahead of Dhawornvej in Laax. In addition to the aforementioned favorites, Anna Gasser has returned from injury to attempt a big air three-peat after winning in PyeongChang and Beijing. With all that star power, it’s fitting for the Feb. 9 final to be under the lights.

“I love night finals. I think the vibe is insane,” Dhawornvej said. “I think it’s a little scarier at night, but the vibes are high.”

For now, however, the main competitions have been intrasquad pizza eating and pin collecting contests.

“I was really confused about the pins. I didn’t know anything about it, but it’s been a really cool way to meet new athletes,” said Dhawornvej, who believes Norman has the highest count so far.

“The last few months have been so stressful getting to the Games for everyone on the circuit,” Norman said. “So I think now that everyone is here, there’s a little bit more of a relaxed vibe.”