Nathan Pare was disqualified from competition during the men’s snowboard cross at the Olympics. The controversial ruling spoiled an incredible comeback by the American, who will not advance to the semifinal.
He was robbed!
A hot mic picked up the his frustration with the decision and NBC validated his criticism. The individual competition at the Olympics will now continue without him even though he appeared to win his heat.
Who is Nathan Pare?
At 21 years old, Pare is quickly becoming a standout on the United States Snowboard Cross team. He was named as the Rookie of the Year in 2024 and finished inside the top-five at the U.S. Championships.
Snowboard Cross, for those who don’t know, is a snowboard race. Six athletes race simultaneously down a narrow, undulating course that is filled with various jumps, banked turns and other obstacles like berms and drops. The event combines speed and technical skill with direct, head-to-head competition. The top two riders from each head advance to the next round in a knockout bracket format.
Nathan Pare competed in the quarterfinal round of Olympic competition on Thursday. He raced alongside Lucas Eguibar Breton of Spain, and Loan Bozzolo and Jonas Chollet of France.
The American snowboard cross racer crossed the line in first place. A first place finish would guarantee him a spot in the semifinal round alongside fellow Team USA athlete Nick Baumgartner.
And then he was disqualified.
Controversy strikes Snowboard Cross.
Pare got off to a slow start in the second quarterfinal race of the day. He was in last place for the majority of the race. It looked like he was going to get boxed in. It seemed like he was stuck in the back.
As Nathan Pare tried to make his move around a sharp right turn, the back end of his snowboard slid over the front edge of Breton’s board. Breton went down. Pare, who was still in third place after the awkward collision, made an unbelievable comeback to take over the lead on the final jump.
He went from last to first and won the heat!
However, the race went under review as soon as Pare crossed the line. Officials later determined that his contact with Breton was enough to disqualify him from the race. They ruled that his collision was intentional. He was not allowed to advance.
Here is how it all went down in real time:
Chaos in men's snowboard cross as Team USA's Nathan Pare was disqualified for making contact with his opponent after a FURIOUS comeback. pic.twitter.com/WjEpt37Aad
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) February 12, 2026
NBC microphones picked up Pare’s reaction to the disqualification. “That’s insane,” he said to a nearby judge. The NBC broadcast team agreed with his assessment.
“He stumbles a little bit, and he doesn’t see him back there, […] That did not look like it was on purpose.”
How could he intentionally run into an opponent that he could not see? He was already ahead on the corner and his back was turned to Breton! His edge slipped him out wide. It was not deliberate.
Nathan Pare and the United States Snowboard Cross team got robbed.