MISSOULA — Helena native Konnor Ralph placed ninth in the finals of the men's freeski slopestyle Tuesday at the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics in Livigno, Italy.
Ralph, 23, is competing in his first Olympics and advanced to the final by placing 10th in the qualifying round last Saturday.
Tuesday morning, his second of three runs was his best performance. He scored 66.76 points, which put him in fifth at the time. American teammate Alex Hall put down an 85.75 score to overtake Ralph in the round.
Two more skiers surpassed Ralph with their third runs.
Birk Ruud of Norway earned the gold medal with an 86.28 first run. Hall's 85.75 was good enough for silver, and New Zealand's Luca Harrington took the bronze with 85.15 points.
Ralph was the second-highest finishing American, as Mac Forehand finished 11th with a 55.93.
Ralph, who will also compete in the men's freeski big air qualifying round on Sunday, is one of two Montanans participating in this year's Winter Olympic Games.
Whitefish's Jake Sanderson is a member of Team USA's men's hockey squad, which will begin pool play versus Latvia on Thursday.
