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October 11, 2025 • 10 mins

World champion and X Games gold medal-winning freeskier Luca Harrington has been named Snow Sports New Zealand's athlete of the year for 2025.

Harrington joined Piney to discuss the win.

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Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Weekend Sport Podcast with Jason Vine
from newstalksb.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
Snow Sports New Zealand Annual Awards Night in Wonica on
Friday Night, Free Skial, free Ski, Slope Style and Big
Air athlete Luca Harrington was named snow Sports New Zealand
Athlete of the Year. Luca Harrington had an exceptional twenty
twenty four to twenty five season, winning on some of
the biggest stages in free skiing. In January, he claimed

(00:34):
gold in slope Style and silver in big Air at
his first appearance at the Winter X Games. In March,
he became the first key We to claim the Crystal
Globe as overall champion for the FIS Big Air World
Cup Tour, and two weeks later the first key We
to win the FIS Free Ski Big Air World Championship.

Speaker 3 (00:55):
Your World Champion twenty twenty five. Here an angered in
Luca Harrington. What a legend Jane five are you heading Luca?
Let's go World Champs twenty twenty five.

Speaker 2 (01:09):
Luca Harrington is with us. Congratulations on the award, Luca,
and on an absolutely exceptional year. If you and I
were talking a year ago, could you have imagined the
success that you have had in the last twelve months.

Speaker 3 (01:25):
Thank you very much, first of all, but no, absolutely not.
This is those results were not what I was seeing
in my future going into last season. But I'm very
grateful for every moment and that and for everything that happened.

Speaker 2 (01:40):
Let's talk about the X Games and Aspen in January,
gold and silver there. Now, initially, weren't you just an
alternate for those games?

Speaker 3 (01:50):
Yeah, exactly, So I was fortunate enough to get two
alternate spots. I went for SubSol one for Big Air,
and that originally meant that I'm a backup in case
somebody does get hurt, but it means that I get
to train and ski and be a part of the
whole event right up until the actual competition.

Speaker 2 (02:10):
And so when did you find out that not only
could you do all those things, but you actually were
in the field for the two events.

Speaker 3 (02:17):
Yeah. So, actually about a week before the X Games
I got the official invite into the Big Air. But
then coming down to Slope Style, it was you know,
I trained all week. I was kind of assuming I
wasn't going to be in in the event, but uh,
the night before the slop cell event, we had a
big air training at night under the lights, which is awesome.

(02:39):
And then I got back down into the athlete zone,
pulled out my phone and it's you know, nine o'clock
at night, and we got the we got the slope
cell the next day and I get an email saying, hey,
you're in. So that was a pretty crazy moment.

Speaker 2 (02:53):
Absolutely, So in some ways, did that take any pressure
that you might have been feeling off that, you know, hey,
this is almost a bit of a free hit, a
bit of a bonus.

Speaker 3 (03:03):
Yeah, absolutely, I think I think that's exactly what happened.
I was, you know, I felt so relaxed up there
during that comp. I wasn't you know, I wasn't expecting
anything of myself. I was just trying to embrace the
embrace the moment and enjoy being there with some my
you know, some of my idols and some my really
good peers. So yeah, I definitely think that that whole

(03:24):
confidence thing was very My confidence was very high up
in there, just because I wasn't having to feel that pressure.

Speaker 2 (03:32):
So look at just for the benefit of some of
our listeners who aren't as familiar with snowsports as others,
can you just explain the difference between slope Style and
Big Air for us.

Speaker 3 (03:43):
Yeah, absolutely so. Slope Style is an event where there
are multiple features throughout the run. Usually it consists of
consists of about three different rails, which are you know,
the big big metal rails that we slide on, and
then usually three different jumps as well. With a Big
Air event is just one big jump, and yeah, you

(04:07):
just got to do two different directions. We're in the
slop Sell run. You have to really put a lot
more effort in and create a bunch of different tricks
and link them together.

Speaker 2 (04:16):
Do you have a favorite of the two?

Speaker 3 (04:19):
Not really. I think I was definitely a little bit
more successful and Big Air this year, but I really
love the challenge to slope Sell.

Speaker 2 (04:27):
So in the big Ee, as you say, it's just
the one jump, I know you get three runs. But
as you're standing at the top there, how do you
prepare yourself for some of the to us anyway death
defying tricks that you're pulling out.

Speaker 3 (04:40):
Yeah, that's it's definitely scary. It's never easy standing at
the top of a massive jump, putting your putting your
body on the line. But I guess you know, we
spend so much time doing this stuff, and we work
really hard to perfect these tricks and to do them safely.
So it's really just trusting and putting belief in your stuff.

(05:02):
When you're standing at the top there.

Speaker 2 (05:04):
And as you're performing these tricks in mid air, look goodness,
may most of us can't even put ourselves into that situation.
Are you aware of what you're doing in those seconds
when you're in the air or is it only till
afterwards that you realize, hey, I've actually nailed that.

Speaker 3 (05:22):
Yeah? Absolutely, I mean that's a huge part of perfecting
a trick is to be to be very aware in
the air of what you are and that's a huge
part of our sport when we're doing these when we're
doing these double and triple court tricks, is to know
and where you are and be spotting the landing and
always be aware of your surroundings so that you know

(05:42):
you're not ending up falling or landing where you don't
want to be landing.

Speaker 2 (05:47):
So X Games success there, then you went on to
win the Crystal Globe as overall champion for the Big
Air World Cup two, the first keyp WE to win that.
A couple of weeks later, the first keyp We to
win the Free Sky Big Air World Championship. How special
was the World Championship win for you?

Speaker 3 (06:03):
Yeah, that was pretty incredible. You know that happened from
Zoe in the past, and you know it's the World
Chance that comes around every two years. It's a very
special moment. Only a few people get to selected to
go as part of the New Zealand team. So yeah,
the World Chance is definitely a very special moment for me.

Speaker 2 (06:25):
Whenever I watch snowsports, it always looks as though the
competitors are just as happy for one another when they
pull off great performances as they are in their own performances.
What is the camaraderie really like in your sport?

Speaker 3 (06:40):
Yeah? Absolutely, I mean it is an individual sport, and
of course we're always wanting to beat each other and
you know, be at the top of the on the
top of the steps. But in the end, our culture
and our community in the freestyle scene is just just
one giant family. You know we are. We're all there
doing it for the same reasons. We're all there to

(07:01):
push each other and to help each other, and of
course we're going to celebrate each other along the way.

Speaker 2 (07:06):
All right, let's look ahead.

Speaker 3 (07:07):
Now.

Speaker 2 (07:07):
Week osawago, you were confirmed as one of the first
group of New Zealand athletes to earn selection for the
Winter Olympics coming up in Melana, Courtina in February. So
between now and then, what will your build up involve?

Speaker 3 (07:21):
Yeah, so of course that's the big one. We have
a couple of months in between where we will be
We're heading off to Austria at the end of this
month actually to get in some training, to go to
a training camp in the Stubai Valley just outside Ennsbruck.
But then before the Olympics, I'll be doing around I

(07:43):
think five or six competitions going in so a few
of these will be the World Cup Tour, so the
Big Air and Slipstar World Cup Tour, and then I've
also been lucky enough to get an invite back to
the X Games again this year, so I'll be competing
in that in January, before the Olympics.

Speaker 2 (08:00):
Where does the Winter Games sit, Luca? You know you
talk about Big Air and how special sorry X Games
and how big, how special that is. Does the Winter
Olympics compare? Are you able to compare the two?

Speaker 3 (08:14):
I mean absolutely yeah. The Olympics. Of course, it's it's
the big one. It's comes around every four years, where
X Games is every year. But honestly, to some people
in the freestyle community, the X Games is almost more
important because even less even less people get to go
to that one. And if you're so if you're one

(08:34):
of those few people selected to be skiing during the
X Games, it's a It's a pretty incredible thing.

Speaker 2 (08:41):
And your brother Bean went to the twenty twenty two
Winter Games in the half pipe. I know he's gunning
for selection for twenty twenty six as well. How special
would it be to go to a Winter Olympic Games
together as brothers?

Speaker 3 (08:54):
Yeah, it would be incredible. That's been a huge golf
for me and my family, and you know, it's been
our dream for so long to have us both there.
You know, it's a hard one not to be there
with him at the twenty twenty two Games. But I
think things are looking pretty break this year and gonna
be very honored to be skiing with him in Italy

(09:17):
this year.

Speaker 2 (09:17):
What is it about that town of yours man Wonnica.
It's probably just so many world class snowsport athletes and
so many families as well with multiple siblings who are
all just amazing.

Speaker 3 (09:29):
Yeah, it's pretty crazy. Definitely something in the water down here,
but I'm not going to tell you what that might.

Speaker 2 (09:35):
Be, fair enough. How nice has it been there to
be home for a b because you spend the you know,
spend the year or most of it sort of offshore.
How nice has it been to have a bit of
time back home?

Speaker 3 (09:45):
Oh, it's always so good. I mean it's a bit tough.
Our winters are nowhere near as long as the Northern
Hemisphere winters, so you know, I feel like I am
not spending more time away from home than I do
at home, but you know, it makes it that much
more special, and I am back.

Speaker 2 (10:01):
Look, congrats on a terrific year, mate, and on your
award on Friday night, which which I know was well
accepted and thoroughly deserved. All the best for what lies
he had made a very exciting time as we draw
closer to the Winter Olympics. I really appreciate you taking
the time for a chat.

Speaker 3 (10:17):
Absolutely, thank you for the chat, and yeah, appreciate the support.

Speaker 2 (10:21):
Thank you guys, No, thank you Looca. Luca Harrington snow
sports New Zealand athlete of the year.

Speaker 1 (10:26):
For more from Weekend Sport with Jason Fine, listen live
to News Talk zed B weekends from midday, or follow
the podcast on iHeartRadio.
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