At the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan Cortina, Chinese skier Sheng Haipeng had a moment he will never forget. During the men’s freeski halfpipe qualification round at Livigno Snow Park, a wardrobe malfunction made his mobile phone slip out of his pocket while he was in the air. The strange moment happened during his first jump of the second qualification run. Cameras caught the white phone flying out and landing on the snow below. Viewers watching at home could clearly see it on replay.
Sheng Haipeng, who is 20 years old, was trying to focus on his run. But instead of only thinking about tricks and landing safely, he had to worry about his phone lying somewhere on the slope. A marshal quickly went to pick it up while Sheng waited for his scores from the judges.
The unexpected scene became one of the most talked-about moments of the day.
Sheng Haipeng loses phone midair during men’s freeski halfpipe qualification at Livigno Snow Park
Most athletes leave their phones in the locker room before competing. Sheng Haipeng did not. As he raced down the halfpipe and launched into the air, the phone slipped out because his pocket was not fully closed. It dropped onto the snow as he completed the jump.
TNT Sports commentator James Webb reacted live on air. He said, “Another athlete losing their phone in midair.
We’ve seen that a few times in the Olympics. ” He then joked, “Someone needs to be the official ‘zip checker’ up at the top. ”
As replays showed the phone popping out, Webb added, “We can see a shot of the phone coming out of the pocket. Oh dear, hope it’s okay. It’s a white phone, it’s just going to disappear into the snow. Fingers crossed the slippers will be able to fish that one up.”
While Sheng Haipeng stood near the bottom of the slope waiting for his score, a marshal brought the snow-covered phone back to him.
When he received it, he politely said, “Thank you very much. ” He quickly checked the device to see if it was damaged.
Despite the distraction, Sheng completed his qualification runs. He finished 20th overall and did not move on to the final round held later that night. Still, the image of his phone flying through the air became one of the lighter moments of the Milan Cortina Winter Games.
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