Olympics 2026: Belarus’ Huskova 8th in Women’s Aerials final

Belarusian freestyle skier Hanna Huskova placed eighth at the 25th Winter Olympic Games in Italy.

Of the 25 athletes in the qualification round, 12 advanced to the final tournament – one Belarusian, four Chinese, three Americans, two Australians, and one each from Canada and Germany. Huskova scored 86.44 points for her first jump in the final and 100.29 for her second. Her better of the two attempts earned her eighth place, with the top six advancing to the super final. The Belarusian freestyle skier missed the cut by 5.7 points.

“You all saw it yourself. I gave it 100 percent, executed my jumps cleanly, and then it’s up to the judges. It’s hard to comment. This is very strange for me. If I had fallen, I could blame myself,” Hanna said. “I’m very glad that I performed the program well. I had to do the jump in the final for the first time this season to increase the difficulty. I did everything for a medal, but unfortunately, there’s nothing to add. Even the stadium announcer said: ‘Bravisimo!’ However, that doesn’t change the fact that I’m not in the top six.”

Chairman of the Belarusian Ski Union Aleksandr Grebnev praised Hanna Huskova’s performance on the trampoline in Livigno: “Anya is our hero. The main hero of our sport! What Huskova did is an example to follow. The second jump in the first final, the one she performed, was executed by her for the first time this season. This is something the Belarusian freestyle school can be proud of. We are ready for any challenges, despite the difficulties. I repeat, we did not expect an easy return. But such injustice on the part of the judging can only be caused by one factor - they are afraid of us. We have returned. And we have returned for good.”

In the past World Cup season, the leader of the Belarusian team competed in three World Cup events, finishing ninth in each. Huskova is the Olympic champion from Pyeongchang 2018 and a silver medalist from the 2022 Beijing Games.