The Carving Games: Snowboard racing is competing for its life at the 2026 Olympics

LIVIGNO, Italy (AP) — Justin Reiter is a rarity in snowboarding. He is an American who made his career carving curves into the snow banks at high speeds, instead of launching his board airborne from the halfpipe.

Now Reiter, 45, is a coach of the world’s best woman snowboard racer, Czech two-time gold medalist Ester Ledecka. Reiter’s pupil, can make snowboarding history with a third straight Olympic gold when she races in parallel giant slalom Sunday at the Milan Cortina Games.

But the Olympic future of their prized sport, called PGS for short, is in jeopardy.

Olympics officials have put PGS, an Olympic discipline since 1998, under review with the possibility of dropping it, along with Nordic combined, from the 2030 Winter Games in France. They will review the sports after evaluating how they fare this year. Snowboard's other racing event, the four-against-four, racetrack style snowboardcross, is not under threat.

The International Olympic Committee said in September that the decision was made in line with new criteria established two years ago for an Olympics that is “balanced, youth-focused and cost-efficient.”

For Reiter, if those are the criteria, it's a no-brainer.

“I think that would be a huge mistake on the part of the IOC” to drop PGS, Reiter told a small group of reporters on Friday.

“It has a fantastic participation between both men and women. It’s extremely cost effective and requires very little snow. So as the IOC places this importance on equity, climate change, and cost for reusable venues, it checks each of those (boxes) absolutely perfect.”

Ledecka joined with other Alpine snowboarders in a public campaign, labeled #keepPGSolympic.

Ledecka made herself this discipline's biggest name in 2018 when she followed up an upset win in skiing's super-G with a victory in PGS, a never-before-done Olympic double that, to that point, was thought impossible.

Forced this year, due to a scheduling conflict, to choose between PGS and what is now her best skiing event, the women's downhill, she picked snowboarding.

“I would do it again because it is an amazing sport which for sure belongs to the Olympics,” she said in a video on Instagram. “I know my personal opinion doesn’t matter at all, but I just hope that the opinion of the person that does matter will fight for alpine snowboarding.”

International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) is also pulling for the racers, with its sport and event director Sandra Spitz calling PGS “the quintessence of what riding a snowboard is about.”

“It’s exciting, simple to understand, cost-efficient, and takes very little in the way of preparation,” she said.

PGS has had its memorable Olympic moments.

In 2002, Chris Klug of Aspen, Colorado, captured a bronze medal in front of a rapturous American crowd in Park City, Utah — the emotional culmination of a comeback from a liver transplant less than two years earlier.

In 2014 came another magical moment when Vic Wild — an American-born snowboard racer who moved to Russia to get better training and funding for a PGS dream that was dead in the States — won a gold medal on the same day his Russian wife won bronze.

Four years later came Ledecka, giving the world a reason to tune in to PGS to see if she could complete her historic double. She did.

Not all the moments have been great. PGS was contested in a driving rainstorm at the 2010 Vancouver Games. Riders needed umbrellas to shield themselves while riding up the lift. More than a dozen slid off the course in the women's contest on a day bronze medalist Marion Kreiner of Austria described as “like jumping into a swimming pool.”

Reiter defends his sport, where two racers compete side-by-side speeding through gates for the fastest finish, as key to snowboarding. For him, it simply represents what most people do on a snowboard. Only once they learn to ride, and maybe ride fast, do a minority decide to risk their necks on the “features” by jumping in a halfpipe or flying over huge rollers and ramps.

Another key truth is that America's TV network, NBC, pays a big chunk of the bill for the Olympics, and snowboard racing lacks American star power. Besides Klug's, the United States has only won one other medal, a bronze, in PGS.

Reiter also mentioned a shift in snowboard manufacturers' focus on making boards for jumping, not speed.

“And snowboarding is just kind of the redheaded stepchild of the Olympics despite the fact that they absolutely need snowboarding,” he said, in a nod to the boost the sport gave the Olympic movement when it was added in 1998.

In the end, PGS riders are a small band of underappreciated purists with one last chance to make a stand. Putting on a good show Sunday would certainly help with that. The reality, though, is that once PGS packs up, snowboarding moves to the halfpipe, which has stars like Chloe Kim, Scotty James and Ayumu Hirano ready to put on a show.

“It’s great to be here in Livigno where everyone can see what everyone else is doing and go out and watch the big air” and other high-flying events, Reiter said. “And I hope to see some guys watching the race finals and sharing the energy that is snowboarding.”

AP National Writer Eddie Pells contributed to this report.

AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

Bulgaria's Alexander Krashniak practices during a snowboard parallel giant slalom training session at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Friday, Feb. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Japan's Tsubaki Miki waves to coaches during a snowboard parallel giant slalom training session at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Friday, Feb. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Bulgaria's Alexander Krashniak practices during a snowboard parallel giant slalom training session at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Friday, Feb. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

FILE -Gold medal winner Ester Ledecka, of the Czech Republic, celebrates after the women's parallel giant slalom at Phoenix Snow Park at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, Saturday, Feb. 24, 2018. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man, File)

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander isn't scoring the way he usually does, but the Oklahoma City Thunder are still winning the way they normally do.

Gilgeous-Alexander, the reigning NBA MVP, averaged 31.1 points during the regular season. In the Western Conference semifinals against the Los Angeles Lakers, he is averaging 20 points and taking only 14 shots per game.

Oklahoma City has still won the first two games by an average of 18 points. Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren each scored 22 points, and the defending champion Thunder beat the Lakers 125-107 on Thursday night.

Ajay Mitchell, starting in place of injured Jalen Williams, is averaging 19 points on 50% shooting in the series for Oklahoma City.

“I think the coaching staff does a good job at just getting all of us ready,” said Mitchell, a second-year guard. "And we have a lot of competitors. Like, everyone’s a competitor on our team. So every time the lights are bright, everyone’s ready to go.”

Holmgren is the leading scorer for the Thunder in the best-of-seven series with 23 points per game. The 2026 All-Star also is averaging 10.5 rebounds and 2.5 blocks.

Jared McCain, a midseason acquisition from the Philadelphia 76ers, barely played in the first round against Phoenix but has averaged 15 points and made 8 of 10 3-pointers in the series.

“He goes in there, stays in character, stays aggressive," Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. "He’s going to shoot the next shot. He makes the right plays, plays inside the team. He competes defensively, has had good defensive possessions for us. And he was huge tonight. You need that in a playoff series.”

The Lakers again were without scoring champion Luka Doncic, who is out indefinitely with a strained left hamstring. They also were missing forward Jarred Vanderbilt, the reserve forward who dislocated the pinkie on his right hand during the second quarter of Game 1. The Lakers had three players finish with five fouls, limiting their aggressiveness late in the game.

Los Angeles guard Austin Reaves, who struggled with his shot in Game 1, scored 31 points on 10-for-16 shooting in Game 2. LeBron James, coming off a 27-point effort in Game 1, followed that up with 23.

With the Lakers up 63-61 early in the third quarter, Gilgeous-Alexander got tied up with Reaves and was called for his fourth foul. Upon review, it was upgraded to a flagrant 1 for Gilgeous-Alexander's follow through. Oklahoma City's Alex Caruso was called for a technical foul as the situation was being sorted out.

Gilgeous-Alexander left the game with the Lakers up 65-61, but the Thunder rallied and took control without him. On a fast break, Holmgren found a trailing Jaylin Williams, who hit a 3-pointer and was fouled. His free throw put the Thunder up 85-74.

The Thunder outscored the Lakers 32-15 while Gilgeous-Alexander was out in the third quarter to take a 93-80 lead into the fourth.

“It was amazing," Gilgeous-Alexander said. “They strung together stops, they’re playing the right way offensively and things are going their way. Full confidence in those guys. They know how to win basketball games. And we've proven that. They’ve proven that no matter who’s on the floor, they know how to get the job done. And they just did it again tonight."

The Lakers cut Oklahoma City's lead to five in the fourth quarter before the Thunder pulled away again.

Los Angeles will host Game 3 on Saturday.

“We just stuck with it,” Holmgren said. “It’s the game of basketball. It’s not always going to go your way. It’s about how you respond. And this team has proven many times that we know how to respond. And we did so tonight.”

This story has been corrected to show that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 20, not 19, points per game against the Lakers.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA

Oklahoma City Thunder's Chet Holmgren (7) shoots over Los Angeles Lakers' Austin Reaves (15) in the second half of Game 2 in a second-round NBA basketball playoffs series Thursday, May 7, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Ajay Mitchell, front, works for a shot as Los Angeles Lakers' Austin Reaves, rear, defends in the second half of Game 2 in a second-round NBA basketball playoffs series Thursday, May 7, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)

Los Angeles Lakers' LeBron James stands on the court in the second half of Game 2 in a second-round NBA basketball playoffs series against the Oklahoma City Thunder Thursday, May 7, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) drives to the basket past Los Angeles Lakers' Deandre Ayton (5) and LeBron James, rear, in the second half of Game 2 in a second-round NBA basketball playoffs series Thursday, May 7, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)

Oklahoma City Thunder center Chet Holmgren (7) works to the basket against Los Angeles Lakers forward Rui Hachimura (28) in the second half of Game 2 in a second-round NBA basketball playoffs series Thursday, May 7, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)