Alpine Skiing Olympic Games Milano Cortina

Winter Olympics: Ryder Sarchett tries to break up with his pole on Valentine's Day at 2026 Milano Cortina

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American skier Ryder Sarchett raised some eyebrows in the men’s giant slalom in the Milano Cortina Olympic Winter Games on Valentine’s Day, as he very much did not enjoy the result he hoped for. He wound up 18th after the first run of two, but it was the way he took his frustrations out that caused some murmurs in the crowd. Watch all the coverage from Milano Cortina on TNT Sports and discovery+.

Watch: Violent reaction as skier takes it out on himself

Video credit: TNT Sports

The men’s giant slalom at Milano Cortina, on TNT Sports and discovery+, created some interesting results, but while some skiers were left overjoyed after the opening run, a fair few were a tad frustrated.

They included American Ryder Sarchett, who crossed the line in 18th place - nearly five seconds back on leader Lucas Pinheiro Braathen.

And he was clearly disgusted with how he skied, attempting to snap his ski poles over his knee - only to be frustrated in that effort as well.

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"Poles are made of strong stuff these days, not perhaps as easy to break as maybe Sarchett would have liked," joked Ed Drake from the TNT commentary booth.

"If you are going to break your pole, you better commit to doing it, otherwise…"

Drake sensibly left that last sentence unfinished, but it was clear what he meant as Sarchett skied out of the finishing area.

Have you EVER heard anyone start a skiing run like this?

Video credit: TNT Sports

Somehow, he needs to regroup, as there is still a second run to come.

The first runs in general did not go to plan for many skiers, with Pinheiro Braathen getting the best of the conditions by going out first.

By the time Sarchett skied, conditions were not as icy as he had hoped, and many competitors were being advised not to glide by their coaches.

The American failed to finish his final race before the Olympics, but clearly making it across the finish line here was not the positive result he had hoped for.

He had two attempts at breaking his pole: first by trying to snap it across his thigh and then by pushing down on both ends in the hopes that force would succeed where aggression had failed.

It has been a long time since ski poles were made of wood - and perhaps back then they were more easily snapped. These days, they tend to be carbon fibre or aluminium, neither of which are known for their snappable tendencies.

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Video credit: TNT Sports

Sarchett was not the only skier left disappointed though.

Luca de Aliprandini lost a ski on his opening run to end his chances for the host nation, the second Italian to part ways with his equipment after Dominik Paris’ suffered a ski binding malfunction in the super-G.

And then there was worse to come when the snow began to fall heavily before the second runs.

Those conditions were far from ideal for Filip Zubcic, who clipped his goggles on a gate and had to pull them off mid-run, somehow making it to the end without missing any turns.

But for Sarchett, his strange day continued when coaches were forced to draw his race number on to his bib with a pen behind the starting gate at the top of the mountain.

Quite what had happened to his race start bib was unclear, but the pen lasted all the way to the finish, with the hand-drawn number still clearly visible despite the worsening conditions.

He finished 25th in the end, and this time made no effort to part company with his ski poles after crossing the line.

Pinheiro Braathen took gold for Brazil - winning his nation's maiden Winter Games medal.

Watch every event of Milano Cortina 2026 live on discovery+. Available across all subscription plans, starting at £3.99.

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