The Chelmsford ace, 34, came out of a three-and-a-half-year retirement in May and will compete against athletes almost half his age at Milan-Cortina 2026
Gus Kenworthy can roll back the years and blaze a Winter Olympic trail for the older generation of skiers, reckons long-term friend and French freestyle legend Kevin Rolland.
The Chelmsford ace, 34, came out of a three-and-a-half-year retirement in May and will compete against athletes almost half his age at Milan-Cortina 2026.
This will mark Kenworthy’s fourth Games after initially quitting the sport to pursue a career in acting.
The social media star, who boasts 1.2 million Instagram followers, returned to World Cup action in December and almost immediately grabbed an Olympic quota place for Team GB.
Rolland, a former freestyle world champion and Olympic bronze medallist at Sochi 2014, is two years older than Kenworthy and is backing him to do it for the veterans when action gets underway next week.
“I’m so happy and stoked to see Gus still doing it,” said Rolland, who is working for TNT Sports across its live coverage of the Games.
“He’s part of my generation and we started competing together when we were 18 years old. He’s a bit younger than me, so we follow each other.
“He stopped skiing for four years, then went back for the Olympics and the World Cup. He skied so well and better than before and in his prime, so we never know – he can still do something crazy at the Olympics.
“I really wish he can grab a medal so it means that the older guys have still got it!”
Kenworthy’s freestyle skiing events will take place in Livigno, located in the north of Italy and one of six host clusters spread out across over 20,000 Italian square miles.
He is one of a 53-strong Team GB delegation in Italy, led by Beijing 2022 curling gold medallist and current Chef de Mission Eve Muirhead.
Rolland, a five-time X Games gold medallist and French flagbearer in Beijing four years ago, will be based in Livigno running the rule on all the freestyle action.
He added: “I’m so excited to be here – the set-up looks crazy. Being the flagbearer was really emotional and really something special for me.
“It’s so exciting to be able to be here and enjoy it – it’s great to introduce freestyle sports to new people and help share those special moments.”
TNT Sports on discovery+ will be the go-to destination in the U.K to watch everything of Milano Cortina 2026 live all in one place, with over 850 hours of action from every sport, venue, and medal event.