Birk Ruud

Birk Ruud, born on April 2, 2000, in Bærum, outside Oslo, Norway, emerged as a prominent figure in freestyle skiing at a young age. Early in his career, Ruud set ambitious goals, including becoming a Youth Olympic Games champion and an Olympic gold medalist. He achieved the former by winning slopestyle gold at the Lillehammer 2016 Winter Youth Olympic Games. His consistent performance and dedication to the sport positioned him as a rising talent.

Ruud’s career progressed with significant wins across various events. He secured a slopestyle silver medal at the 2019 World Championships and earned four X Games Big Air medals, including golds in Norway in 2018 and Aspen in 2019. He further demonstrated his dominance by winning consecutive Big Air World Cup crystal globes in the 2019/20 and 2020/21 seasons. His ultimate ambition was realized at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics where he became the first men’s Big Air Olympic champion, showcasing a switch triple cork 1980 in the final. This victory was particularly meaningful, dedicated to his late father, Oivind.

Following his Olympic success, Ruud continued his trajectory, becoming the first athlete to win back-to-back freeski overall crystal globes in the 2021/22 and 2022/23 seasons. His 2022/23 campaign was marked by winning nine out of nine World Cup events. He also collected slopestyle gold and Big Air bronze at the 2023 Bakuriani World Championships in Georgia. In 2025, he successfully defended his slopestyle title at the Freeski and Snowboard World Championships in Engadin, Switzerland, despite an eventful morning leading up to the competition.