US Snowboarder Pare DQ'd After Winning Olympic Heat

In a dramatic turn at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, American snowboarder Nathan Pare was disqualified from the men's snowboard cross quarterfinals on February 12 after crossing the finish line first, ending his medal hopes in his Olympic debut.

The 21-year-old from Team USA started the heat in last place among competitors including Spain's Lucas Eguibar Breton and France's Jonas Chollet and Loan Bozzolo. Pare fought back aggressively, navigating jumps and turns to overtake the leaders. Midway through the course, as he attempted to pass Eguibar on a bend, the tail of Pare's board made contact with Eguibar's, causing the 32-year-old Spaniard to lose balance and fall. Undeterred, Pare surged ahead, edging out Chollet and Bozzolo in the final stretch to finish first and briefly celebrate with raised arms.

Judges reviewed video footage of the incident, as required for any contact in quarterfinal heats. They ruled the move constituted illegal interference under snowboard cross regulations, which classify such actions as intentional, unintentional, or incidental. The decision resulted in a red card disqualification for Pare, ranking him last in the heat and barring him from...