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The 2026 Winter Olympics have given us some memorable scenes. From Polish skaters cradling a pierogi plushie to skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych choosing to take a stand, Olympians have stood out in unique ways. Another such athlete to leave his mark on the Olympic Games is Japanese freestyle skier Ikuma Horishima, who accidentally slid backward toward the finish line—and still won a medal.
Horishima was competing in the first-ever men’s dual moguls event at the Winter Olympics. In this new system, two skiers race down a hill, tasked with performing tricks off two large ramps. The winner is not simply the one who reaches the bottom first. Instead, a pool of 35 points is split between the two competitors, with judges assigning them based on technical turn difficulty, speed, and execution of the aerial tricks.
Having won his group in the preliminary stage, Horishima headed into the quarterfinals against Nick Page from the U.S. Given the single-elimination bracket of the competition, whoever lost saw their chances of winning a medal vanish. Despite having had some great races, Horishima struggled this time, losing control after the first jump, but recovering in time to hit the ramp for the second. Although he crash landed, Horishima was able to maintain balance and glide toward the finish line, crossing moments before Page. But with this, his hips had turned after recovering, and caused him to slide backwards.
Despite the rocky performance, Horishima still won. Page was disqualified after running off course and missing a gate, earning Horishima all 35 points and advancing to the semifinal, which he also won. “After the final run, I was feeling sorry for everyone who’s supported me,” Horishima told Kyodo News. “I couldn’t produce a good run and I thought I was really lacking the ability to compete in today’s conditions.”
Still, Horishima went on to win a silver medal—his second in the games, as he had won bronze in men’s single moguls. “Honestly, the slopes in the single and dual certainly weren’t the ones that I excel at. But it’s given me confidence that I was able to medal under those conditions,” he added.
Horishima lost the final race to Canada’s Mikaël Kingsbury, who commended the Japanese skier. “He’s the best skier in the world right now in moguls, and it’s like the dream scenario. You want a big win against the best,” Kingsbury said about Horishima. “That makes my gold medal even better.”
Japanese freestyle skier Ikuma Horishima, who accidentally slid backwards toward the finish line at the Winter Olympics—and still won a medal.
Watch Horishima accidentally slide backwards in the video below:
Japanese freestyle skier Ikuma Horishima crosses finish line backwards at Winter Olympics
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Sources: Olympics: Japan’s Horishima adds dual moguls silver to moguls bronze
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