After winning a silver and a bronze in the Olympics, Alex Ferreira has set his eyes on claiming the gold. But for that, he’d have to take on some of the rising skiers, like the reigning world champion, Brendan Mackay. At the men’s halfpipe skiing qualifier at the 2025 World Championships, Switzerland, Ferreira’s scoreboard read 88, as he finished third overall. The top two places were taken by the New Zealanders, Finley Melville-Ives and Luke Harrold. But with just six months left to the 2026 Winter Olympics, can Ferreira find a way to get the gold? 

Well, that’s the golden dream for every single athlete. “My plan right now is to go to the Olympics, win it, and retire on top,” Ferreira confessed ahead of the X Games. Unfortunately, he failed to get the gold and had to settle for the silver medal at the X Games.

Being 30 years old comes with its own set of challenges. And one of these challenges is the realization that his competition is getting stronger while he’s slowly losing his edge. Of course, Ferreira is doing his best to secure a win, but so are his rivals. Yet, the Catholic American has only one desire for the upcoming Winter Olympics. 

During a recent conversation with Fox News, Alex Ferreira confessed, “You just want to represent your country as best as possible, and being American, I just, of course, I want to win. They’re our neighbors up north, and they’re great people. But I want to beat them.” Now, the question that we need to ask is – how can Ferreira defeat the reigning champion?

The answer lies in the determination that he expressed during his conversation with Fox News. However, there’s no way that Ferreira can underestimate his competition from Canada. Why? 

Alex Ferreira elaborates on his rivalry with the Canadian skier ahead of Winter Olympics

Ferreira was crystal clear that his biggest rivals are from New Zealand and Canada. But the one name that he must stay concerned about is Brendan Mackay. And the reason lies in the outcome of the 2023 World Championships.

As the conversation with Fox News continued, Ferreira shared, “Some of the most intense competitions I’ve had with some of the Canadians was in 2023, the Bakuriani, Georgia, World Championships with Brendan Mackay and myself. Brendan ended up winning. … Brendan skied really great there.” It was the event where Ferreira had to settle for a bronze medal. 

No doubt, the rivalry is getting hotter over time. And Ferreira has to keep grinding if he wants to get the gold. He claimed, “But, certainly the Canadians, like Brendan is getting better every single day. I myself am training every single day. So, I think we both just really want to win.” 

Getting a win at Milano Cortina might be a fair bit easier for Ferreira. After all, he believes that the slopes are more similar to the ones in Colorado than the ones in Canada. This puts him at a tiny bit of an advantage. But only time can tell what’s going to happen in 2026.