Feature
Luke Harrold - from Grom to the Global Stage
Luke Harrold’s rise through the world of freeskiing has been anything but slow - yet to him, it still feels slightly unreal.
Born in Christchurch and raised in the small lakeside community of Lake Hāwea, Luke’s skiing journey began in the most Kiwi way possible: through his local school programme. Learning to ski at Cardrona Alpine Resort with Hawea Flat Primary School, the mountains quickly became his second home. What started as school ski days soon turned into something much bigger.
Training out of Cardrona with the High Performance Centre, Luke fell in love not just with skiing, but with the creativity and technical challenge of freeskiing. He entered his first competitions in 2016 at the Junior Freestyle Nationals, and by 2018 his talent was recognised by Snow Sports NZ, bringing him into the National Development Team while he was still barely a teenager.
By 2023, Luke’s name was firmly on the international radar. He delivered a standout season, winning both the FIS North American Cup and the FIS European Cup Premium freeski halfpipe titles, and finishing second at the World Rookie Tour Finals slopestyle event.
It was a year that hinted at what was to come.
In December 2023, at just 15 years old, Luke made his FIS World Cup debut at the Freeski Halfpipe World Cup in China. On sport’s biggest stage, he put down a highly technical, fearless run to finish second, becoming the youngest Kiwi freeskier ever to stand on a World Cup podium.
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"It's been crazy to go from just skiing as a grom to competing at World Cups and making the podium"
“It’s been crazy to go from just skiing as a grom to competing at World Cups and making the podium,” he says. “It’s all been happening super fast - it’s pretty crazy.”
Momentum continued into 2024 when Luke represented New Zealand at the Gangwon Winter Youth Olympic Games, part of the most successful Youth Olympic team in NZ history. He delivered under pressure, winning gold in freeski halfpipe and adding a bronze medal in freeski big air, an epic result.
Then came 2025, and with it, a moment that etched Luke’s name into freeski history. At the FIS Park & Pipe World Championships, he became the first skier ever to land a triple corked rotation in a freeski halfpipe competition. The trick pushed the boundaries of what was thought possible, and Luke finished fourth overall against the best in the world.
Now, another milestone awaits.
Selected for the New Zealand Team for the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games, Luke will make his Olympic debut. The scale of the moment hasn’t quite landed yet, but the excitement is building.
“It feels like it’s coming up pretty fast” he says. “Everybody talks about it so much, so actually going there is going to be pretty amazing.”
Imagining standing at the top of the halfpipe, fern on his chest, Olympic rings behind him, Luke is honest about the mix of emotions ahead. “I honestly have no idea how that’s going to feel. There’s a bit of nerves and excitement, I think I’ll just figure it out when I’m there.”
Despite his rapid rise, Luke remains grounded in what matters most to him: progression. “With competing you always have a goal,” he says. “My biggest goal is doing the best I can at every competition.
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"If you land the best run you can do, you can’t really do any better than that.”
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Along the way, the people around him have played a huge role. Training alongside fellow young gun Finley Melville Ives, someone he’s skied with since childhood - has pushed him to improve. “He’s been the competition for me my whole skiing career, and we’ve both gotten better from that.” The experience of senior teammates like Zoi Sadowski-Synnott and Ben Barclay has also been invaluable, while Nico Porteous remains someone he looks up to as the ultimate benchmark - the GOAT.
Heading into his first Olympic Games, Luke is keen to lean into the team environment. While freeskiing may be an individual sport, wearing the silver fern brings something more.
Long term, Luke dreams of standing on an Olympic podium. But beyond medals, he’s motivated by growth - in his skiing, and as a leader within the sport. He wants to inspire the next generation of kids clicking into skis for the first time, just as he once did at Cardrona.