A chaotic finish in the men’s dual moguls saw both skiers in a race lose control – leading to one competitor crossing the line backwards in a stunning scene.
Japanese skier Ikuma Horishima and American rider Nick Page faced off against each other in the dual mogul’s 1/8th final in Livigno.
The two were incredibly close about halfway down the slope when they both seemed to lose control simultaneously.
Page’s bumpy ride led to him going off course and around a control gate – meaning his race automatically came to an end.
But Horishima’s loss of control saw him back on his skis at top speed and rapidly approaching a jump.
He hit the ramp nearly sideways and flipped in mid-air before he crashed down onto the snow. Horishima’s momentum bounced him back up onto his skis – but backwards – as he managed to cross the line first.
Japan’s Ikuma Horishima finished his men’s dual moguls race skiing backwards
Horishima went fast down the mountain and crashed off the final jump, but recovered and beat competitor Nick Page. Due to an error from Page, Horishima would’ve won anyway.
Horishima reached the Big Final, winning a silver medal for his speedy efforts
While winning the race was virtuous, even if Page crossed first, Horishima would have still been declared the winner due to the American’s earlier mistake.
The Olympic commentators were astounded by the events unfolding in front of them, with the main announcer saying, ‘I can’t believe my eyes’ and calling it a ‘race for the ages.’
Luck was on the side of Horishima on the day as he carried his momentum through to the big final.
But in the race for gold, Horishima went down the mountain way too fast once again and missed the bottom jump.
While Horishima did leave with the silver medal, Canada’s Mikael Kingsbury won his nation’s first gold medal of these Winter Olympics.