Park City’s Podmilsak lands in 4th at Big Air World Cup in Switzerland

Park City's Troy Podmilsak Executing a Triple 18 Mute at the Big Air Freeski FIS World Cup in Chur, Switzerland, landing in 4th place. Photo: courtesy of U.S. Ski and Snowboard // FIS

Podmilsak, often referred to as TPod, is no stranger to pushing the boundaries in freeskiing

SWITZERLAND — Stifel U.S. Freeski Team athlete from Park City and 2023 world champion Troy Podmilsak made an impression at the first World Cup of the season on Friday.

The Big Air Chur World Cup event in Switzerland kicked off qualifiers a day earlier than scheduled due to heavy winds and rain in the forecast, and Podmilsak capitalized on the opportunity and went out big. Executing a triple 18 mute placed him in second in his heat and guaranteed a spot in the finals. Unfortunately, the extreme weather conditions led to the cancellation of finals, with the results from Thursday, Oct. 19, qualifications standing as the final results.

Podmilsak finished in fourth place overall, trailing behind Dylan Deschamps of Canada in first, Daniel Basher of Austria in second and Birk Ruud of Norway in third.

“I’m happy to have shown up and landed the trick I wanted to do yesterday. I was looking forward to stepping it up today for finals but you can’t beat the weather,” said Podmilsak to U.S. Ski & Snowboard. “Big thanks to the organizers for making the jump awesome in the difficult conditions. Looking forward to coming back next season!”

Podmilsak, often referred to as TPod, is no stranger to pushing the boundaries in freeskiing. Despite being only 19 years old, he clinched a gold at his first World Championships in big air and took home third place at this event last season. 

Notably, Podmilsak was the only U.S. skier to compete in the Big Air Chur event. Next up, the Stifel U.S. Freeski Team will travel to Stubai, Austria for the next contest of the 2023-24 season.