Nico Porteous facts for kids
![]() Porteous on the set of What Now in Rolleston, 2019
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Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Born | Hamilton, New Zealand |
23 November 2001 ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 1.75 m | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 63 kg | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Country | New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | Freestyle skiing | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Event(s) | Halfpipe | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Nico Porteous, born on November 23, 2001, is an amazing freestyle skier from New Zealand. He's even an Olympic champion!
He became New Zealand's youngest Olympic medalist ever. He won a bronze medal at the 2018 Winter Olympics when he was just 16 years old.
Later, he made history again at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. He won a gold medal in the men's halfpipe event. This made him the first New Zealand man to win a Winter Olympic gold!
Contents
Early Life and Family
Nico started skiing super young, at just three years old, in France! His parents taught him how to ski.
By age six, he already had a professional coach helping him get even better. He was home-schooled for some time. He also studied at Christ Church Grammar School in Australia.
His older brother, Miguel Porteous, is also a fantastic freeskier and an Olympian! They both competed in the 2018 and 2022 Winter Olympics.
Nico's Skiing Career
When Nico was only 14, he did something amazing! He became the youngest person ever to land a 'triple cork 1440'. This trick means going upside down three times and spinning four full times in the air! Someone else has since done it even younger.
Olympic Achievements
Nico was chosen to compete at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. He was the second-youngest Winter Olympian from New Zealand.
He won a bronze medal in the men's halfpipe event. This made him only the third New Zealander to win a medal at the Winter Olympics. He was also the first male New Zealander to do so!
At 16 years and 91 days old, Nico became New Zealand's youngest Olympic Games medalist. He broke the record set by Zoi Sadowski-Synnott earlier that same day.
On February 19, 2022, Nico won the gold medal in the men's halfpipe event. This happened at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China. It was a huge moment for him and for New Zealand!
Other Competitions
In 2019, Nico won a bronze medal at the Winter X Games in Aspen, Colorado. This was in the superpipe event.
In 2021, he won his first X Games gold medal, also in the Superpipe event. He was on fire!
In January 2022, Nico won another gold medal. This was at the U.S. Grand Prix World Cup event in California, USA.
Later in 2022, at the X Games in Aspen, USA, Nico won gold again! He defended his title in the superpipe on his very last run.
For all his amazing achievements in snow sports, Nico was honored in 2023. He was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit.