Freestyle Skiing

Freestyle skiing rose to prominence in the 1960s in the United States, as the advances in ski equipment led to development of new and exciting skiing techniques that differed greatly from the alpine skiing commonly seen in Europe. Skiers started to incorporate acrobatic tricks and jumps into their runs, and in 1979 freestyle was recognised as a discipline by the International Ski Federation (FIS).

Freestyle skiing first made its debut at the 1988 Calgary Games - albeit only as a demonstration sport, with events for men and women in moguls, aerials, and ballet. Four years later at the Albertville Games, the mogul event gained medal status, as did the aerial event at Lillehammer 1994. Ski cross made its Olympic debut at the 2010 Vancouver Games. Slopestyle and halfpipe were added to the freestyle skiing programme at the 2014 Sochi Games.