American freeskier Hunter Hess got to the end of his successful run in Olympic halfpipe qualifying, then leaned into the camera. He bent his left thumb and forefinger into the shape of an “L,” lifted it to his forehead and pointed at it with the other hand.
“Apparently,” he explained, “I’m a loser.”
The 27-year-old who received that label from U.S. President Donald Trump at the start of the Olympics — leading to threats to his family and setting off the first major political imbroglio of the Games — finally got in the starting gate Friday. Fired up after nailing his first run, he flashed the “L” sign, then explained he has used the entire episode 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 Americans to qualify for the 12-man final, all of whom have a chance to give the U.S. team its first gold medal over nearly two weeks of skiing and snowboarding at the Livigno Snow Park.
During a news conference at the start of the Games, skiers were asked how they felt representing the country during the Trump administration’s heightened immigration enforcement actions back home.
Hess’ response: “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.”
That caught Trump’s attention.
“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,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social account.
After a few days, that died down. The freeskiers, placed on the back end of the Olympic schedule, retreated to Laax, Switzerland, for a week of training. Hess conceded it wasn’t the easiest time.
“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 said, “There’s been a lot of hate out there. All those people are super entitled to their opinion, and I respect it.”
Ultimately, though, he said he had no second thoughts about what he said in that fateful Feb. 6 news conference. The message, he insisted, was really a message 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.”