Nathan Pare’s bid for gold at the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics came to an abrupt end on Day 6 of the Winter Games.
The day’s second snowboarding quarterfinal event did not go as Pare likely hoped, with the American competing near last place for most of the race. Pare gained some momentum around a turn, but his snowboard became intertwined with Spain’s Lucas Eguibar Breton’s.
Part of the back portion of Pare’s board appeared to make contact with Eguibar Breton’s board. The collision caused the Spaniard to lose balance and fall down.
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Pare did maintain his third-place spot after the incident. He then rallied to the first-place position on the final jump of the course. Pare’s celebratory mood didn’t last long because judges quickly launched a review of the quarterfinal run.
Judges then determined that Pare was disqualified from the competition, citing the collision. The decision sparked a pointed response from Pare.
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“That’s insane,” television microphones seemed to have caught Pare saying in reference to the judges’ ruling.
The broadcasters working the livestream of the quarterfinal also weighed in.
“He stumbles a little bit, and he doesn’t see him back there,” one announcer said. “That did not look like it was on purpose.”
When it comes to interference, the snowboard cross rule book describes three categories: intentional, involuntary and incidental. In two of those cases, involuntary and incidental, a competitor would typically be penalized with a yellow card, which effectively serves as a warning. But anything deemed as intentional contact is eligible for a red card and disqualification.
Since the judges ruled the collision involving Pare as intentional, he could not advance to the semifinals. Instead, Jonas Chollet and Loan Bozzolo, both of France, moved on to the next round.
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