Luca Harrington carries himself quietly, but the riding does the talking. A slopestyle and big air athlete with X Games pedigree and World Cup results and Olympic representation, he has already proven he can land under pressure. There is no excess in what Luca does, just precision and timing at speed. His career is still in its early stages, but the trajectory is clear. Luca sits right where progression meets control, and we caught him after a big 12 months to see where it is heading.
You came into 2026 with a serious target on your back after X Games, World Cup and World Championship results. Did the Olympics feel different from everything else, or was it just another start gate once the bib went on?
The Olympics definitely felt like it had a fair bit more pressure than most of the other comps this season. I think as it is the pinnacle event of our sport and we have just worked hard through the 4 year cycle to make it there, we wanted to make everyone proud. How everything ran seemed to be pretty similar to any other World Cup, but it was definitely hard to ignore the pressure and exoticness of the Olympics.
You claimed Olympic bronze in slopestyle at Milano Cortina with an 85.15 in difficult conditions. When you dropped into that run, were you thinking medal, survival, or simply putting down the cleanest version of your skiing?
Earning my Olympic bronze was one of the hardest jobs I have ever had to do. The conditions were extremely tough but I still wanted to give it all I had and show what I had been working on. After not landing the first two runs, my last run was all about being proud of myself. All I wanted was to land this run which consisted of so many years of hard work put together. And although it wasn’t the cleanest, I managed to do my job and walk away with a bronze medal.
The Olympic slopestyle final looked like a proper battle, with conditions and pressure both playing a role. What was the hardest part of that day from inside the course?
Yeah finals day was a rough one with weather. I think the hardest part was just how flat the light was. It was pretty crazy to think that out of 12 of the best skiers in the world, I think only 4 or 5 of us managed to land a full run.
You qualified fifth for the Olympic Big Air final after putting down strong qualification scores. How did your mindset shift between slopestyle bronze and then backing up for Big Air?
It was really hard to stay motivated and hungry for Big Air. I definitely had a huge comedown after slopestyle and needed to try to get my mind back in the zone for big air. I definitely think that I wasn’t in peak performance for Big Air throughout the whole week which is a shame but I did have a plan and I stuck to it. Not executing it as I wanted to definitely hurt, but it’s hard to walk away and not be happy to have at least one Olympic medal to your name.
At only 21, you have already won X Games gold, Big Air World Championship gold, a Crystal Globe and an Olympic medal. Does success at that speed feel normal yet?
It definitely catches me off guard all the time. I forget about the success I have had at such a young age and it always reminds me of how grateful I am for this life that I am fortunate enough to live and to the many people that have supported me to live these dreams of mine.
Your skiing has become known for being high level but also very composed. How much of that comes from repetition, and how much comes from being able to stay calm?
I find that a lot of it comes down to reps and I definitely tell that to a lot of the younger generation. The more you do anything in life, the easier it is going to become and that is absolutely a huge part of skiing and tricks. The mental side of skiing and competing is something that can take a lot longer to learn and is something I am still trying to master.
New Zealand freeskiing keeps punching above its population. What do you think Kiwi skiers are doing differently?
I think that being from the small town of Wanaka and growing up skiing at Snowpark and Cardrona, we have been getting inspired from the world’s best since day one on snow. We have also experienced first-hand seeing the success of the generations before us, such as the Wells, Porteous and Bilous brothers which has pushed us to follow their same path and successes.
The level in Big Air and Slopestyle is moving fast. What tricks or combos are now becoming standard?
Each year the level and trend changes in a sport like freestyle skiing. Its pretty crazy to look back and see how far our sport has come, how many rotations we have learnt to do and how many times we have defeated the odds of what we thought was or wasn’t possible. I’m definitely looking forward to the future of our sport and hope it doesn’t have to continue on a linear trajectory to push progression.
When you look back at the 2026 season years from now, what do you think will stand out most?
To the people, most likely they will remember my 2026 season for the medals. For me, I have learnt how much family means to me, how many people are always supporting me and the amount of people that have sacrificed something in a way to help me achieve my goals and dreams. I think that the most special part of the Olympics for me was having my whole family there. It was the first time in forever that I had both my parents watching me, and to be competing in the Olympics with my Older brother was a very special time for us.
