Nathan Pare’s first-place finish in the men’s snowboard cross was short-lived.
The 21-year-old American was disqualified from Thursday’s quarterfinal at the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics after making contact with Spain’s Lucas Eguibar on a bend as he picked up speed to move from fourth to third.
Eguibar, 32, lost his balance after the collision and fell into the powder as Pare made a push on the final jump to edge out Frenchmen Jonas Chollet and Loan Bozzolo at the finish.
The judges reviewed the run once it concluded and ruled the collision was intentional, according to Sports Illustrated, which also reported that Pare told a judge, “That’s insane.”
“Intentional” is one of the three designations of interference in the sport, along with involuntary and incidental. It is defined as when “a rider purposefully creates contact with a competitor,” and can result in a red card (disqualification) if the movement impacts a competitor’s result, according to the rules.
Chollet and Bozzolo qualified for the semifinals but were bested in their heat by the former’s brother, Aidan Chollet. Aidan placed fourth in the big final and failed to medal.
