American freeskier Hunter Hess, after successfully completing his Olympic halfpipe qualifying run, turned to the camera and made an “L” shape with his left hand, pointing to it with his right.
“Apparently,” he explained, “I’m a loser.”
The 27-year-old, who received that label from Donald Trump at the start of the Games, faced threats to his family and became embroiled in the first major political controversy of the Olympics.
Fired up after a strong first run, Hess used the gesture to acknowledge the episode, stating he had used it as motivation.
“I worked so hard to be here. I sacrificed my entire life to make this happen,” Hess said.
“I’m not going to let controversy like that get in my way. I love the United States of America. I cannot say that enough. My original statement, I felt like I said that, but apparently people didn’t take it that way. I’m so happy to be here, so happy to represent Team USA.”
Hess was one of four American athletes to qualify for the 12-man final, all of whom now have an opportunity to secure the US team’s first gold medal in nearly two weeks of skiing and snowboarding events at the Livigno Snow Park.
The controversy began at a news conference earlier in the Games, where skiers were asked about representing the country amidst the Trump administration’s heightened immigration enforcement actions.
Hess’s response was: “If it aligns with my moral values, I feel like I’m representing it. Just because I’m wearing the flag doesn’t mean I represent everything that’s going on in the U.S.”
This comment drew the attention of Mr Trump, who posted on his Truth Social account: “Hess, a real Loser, says he doesn’t represent his Country in the current Winter Olympics. If that’s the case, he shouldn’t have tried out for the Team, and it’s too bad he’s on it.”
After a few days, the initial furore subsided. The freeskiers, scheduled for the latter part of the Olympic programme, retreated to Laax, Switzerland, for a week of training. Hess admitted it was a challenging period.
“I had a week that was pretty challenging,” he said. “Luckily, my family was there to support me and help me get through it.
“There was a lot of noise and I’ve never been subject to that kind of criticism. Skiing has saved my life time and time again and it seems to have done so again.”
He added: “There’s been a lot of hate out there. All those people are super entitled to their opinion, and I respect it.”
Ultimately, Hess maintained he had no regrets about his statement at the 6 February news conference, insisting his message was one of support.
“I stand with what I said. I love the United States of America. I cannot reiterate that enough. It means the absolute world to me to be able to represent Team USA here. I worked so, so hard to get here. I stick with what I said.”
