Nico Porteous, one of two New Zealand athletes to win a Winter Olympic gold medal, will not defend his ski halfpipe title from 2022 at the 2026 Milan Cortina Games as he focuses on other parts of his skiing career.
“I’ve loved representing New Zealand. Wearing the fern and competing for my country has been the most incredible experience and I’m so proud of what I’ve achieved,” Porteous, 23, said in press release. “This wasn’t an easy decision to make, but I’m excited to do something new, and I feel like the time is right for me to look for a new challenge and new opportunities.”
Porteous plans to stay active in skiing through filming, product development and other competitions outside of the halfpipe, such as Natural Selection.
“I still love skiing, and I want to keep skiing to the best of my abilities and keep pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in the sport,” he said. “Ultimately, I’m ready for something new. What that looks like I’m not exactly sure, but over the past few seasons I’ve enjoyed filming and producing videos, as well as working on gear and product design.”
In 2018, Porteous took halfpipe bronze in his Olympic debut, becoming at 16 the youngest skier to win an Olympic medal and the youngest New Zealand athlete to win a Winter or Summer Olympic medal.
In 2022, he landed back-to-back double cork 1620s on his first of three runs in the Olympic final. His 93-point score held up to take gold over Americans David Wise and Alex Ferreira, who had gone one-two in 2018.
Earlier in the 2022 Games, Zoi Sadowski-Synnott became the first New Zealand athlete to win a Winter Olympic gold medal, taking the women’s snowboard slopestyle event.
Porteous last competed at a September 2024 World Cup in New Zealand, placing 31st. He also won X Games Aspen titles in 2021 and 2022 and the World Championships in 2021, also in Aspen.
Another man from New Zealand won the world title in ski halfpipe this past March — 18-year-old Finley Melville Ives — ahead of Americans Nick Goepper and Ferreira.
