Libby native Konnor Ralph capped his first Winter Olympics with a fifth place finish in Freeski Big Air Tuesday at the 2026 Milano Cortina games.

The 23-year-old, who now calls Helena home, was part of a group of outstanding performers in the finals that left broadcasters and fans awestruck.

Ralph was seeded last entering the Freeski Big Air medal round, but scored an 86.5 in his first jump. He didn’t land his second jump, putting the pressure on for his third and final jump. Ralph didn’t disappoint, scoring 91.5 and giving him a total score of 178 that vaulted him into fifth.

Norway’s Tormod Frostad claimed the gold medal with a total score of 195.50. He landed all of his jumps, including a final round 98.50.

Ralph’s teammate, Mac Forehand, also enjoyed an outstanding finals as he landed all of his jumps on the way to a silver medal. Forehand scored 193.25, including 98.25 on his last jump.

Austria’s Matej Svancer grabbed the bronze medal with a 191.25. American Troy Podmilsak was fourth with a score of 184.50, giving the U.S. three of the top five in the event.

Ralph has steadily improved his World Cup rankings since he began competing internationally in 2021-22. That season, Ralph ranked 78th overall, including 40th in Freeski Slopestyle. 

He jumped into the top 20 next year with a No. 19 ranking in Slopestyle. This season, Ralph is ranked No. 4 in Slopestyle and No. 5 in Big Air.

Last week, Ralph finished ninth in the Freeski Slopestyle, his first Olympics.

Through Wednesday’s competition, Team USA is third in the medal count with 24. Seven are gold, 11 are silver and six are bronze. Norway is first with 33 medals, including 15 gold. Host Italy is second with 26, including nine gold medals.

Montana’s other Olympian, 23-year-old Jake Sanderson of Whitefish, is part of a team that will play in the semifinals Friday with a berth in the gold medal game on the line. Slovakia is the opponent.

Sanderson, who plays for Ottawa in the NHL, had two assists against Germany. 

The U.S. romped through the Group C preliminary round, outscoring Latvia, Denmark and Germany by a combined 16-5. Sweden gave the Americans a tougher game in Wednesday’s quarterfinals, with the U.S. winning 2-1 in overtime on Quinn Hughes’ goal.

The Americans will play Slovakia at 1:10 p.m. Friday in the semifinals. A win puts them in the gold medal game against the winner of the Canada-Finland game, set for 8:40 a.m. Friday.

The gold medal game is scheduled to be played at 6:10 a.m. Sunday.