USA snowboarder Nathan Pare made a fascinating comeback from fourth place to finish in first place and earn a spot in the men’s snowboard cross semifinal round at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
However, shortly after, Pare was disqualified for crashing into Spain’s Lucas Eguibar. It was a stunning turn of events, and Pare spoke about the decision after being disqualified.
“To have a call like that, at the Olympics, pretty much stripping it away from me, it’s hard to deal with,” Pare said, via Brendan Quinn of The Athletic. “It’s impossible to explain how that feels.”
The International Ski and Snowboard Federation released a statement to The Athletic about the ruling.
“There was no intentional contact, but it was a clear mistake that cut off the other athlete,” the statement read. “Under the rules, if a rider makes such an error and takes another athlete out, they are ranked last in the heat. This falls under line deviation within the race interference rules.”
Chaos in men's snowboard cross as Team USA's Nathan Pare was disqualified for making contact with his opponent after a FURIOUS comeback. pic.twitter.com/WjEpt37Aad
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) February 12, 2026
Pare is just 21 years old, and while it’s an unfortunate turn of events, the snowboarder said he would take the same line if he were to do it again.
“I did everything I felt was correct,” Pare said. “I would probably go retake the line again if I was given the option.”
Now, Pare will have to wait four more years to make a run at earning an Olympic medal after the crushing turn of events.
