Gus Kenworthy had already said goodbye to competitive skiing once. Now his decision to keep going has helped international skiing reconsider who gets to come back.
The four-time Olympian is returning to the U.S. ski team after representing Great Britain at Beijing 2022 and Milano Cortina 2026. His return, reported by ESPN on September 24, came with an unusual obstacle.
In 2025, the International Ski and Snowboard Federation, FIS, introduced a restriction allowing athletes to change their national affiliation only once. Kenworthy had already moved from the United States to Great Britain in 2019.
U.S. Ski & Snowboard argued that returning to his original team was different from moving to a third country. His first switch had also happened before the restriction existed.
FIS approved his return. It also agreed to change the rule more broadly, allowing athletes to return to their original country after at least four years, provided they meet additional requirements.
“Gus’ case initiated a thought process and a change in thinking,” acting FIS secretary general Urs Lehmann told ESPN.
The change is intended to distinguish a return like Kenworthy’s from repeated moves made to gain a competitive advantage. His case has therefore opened a path that could apply to other athletes, too.
That is a remarkable development in a career many fans thought had reached its final Olympic chapter.
Kenworthy won slopestyle silver for the United States at Sochi 2014 while still closeted. He publicly came out as gay the following year.
By Pyeongchang 2018, he was competing openly. A televised kiss with his then-boyfriend, actor Matt Wilkas, became a memorable moment of gay visibility at the Winter Games.
He subsequently represented Great Britain, the country of his birth and his mother’s home country. After Beijing 2022, he retired.
But the retirement did not last. Kenworthy returned to training and reached a fourth Olympics in 2026, finishing sixth in the men’s halfpipe final. He was 34 at the time.
He turned 35 on October 1. A fifth Games in the French Alps in 2030 would find him aged 38. He has expressed interest in continuing, although an Olympic place is something he would still have to earn.
There is another future taking shape away from the slopes.
On August 4, Gus proposed to Andrew Rigby on an island off Mallorca. The two had first met in Sydney nearly a decade earlier, but their relationship began after they reconnected in 2024.
Andrew supported Gus through his Olympic comeback. After a period of long-distance dating, they made a home together in New York.
For readers who have followed Gus since Sochi, this is more than another change of uniform. The young medalist who was hiding part of his life is now an openly gay veteran athlete, engaged to the man he loves and preparing to compete again for his original team.
The September announcement gives that story a new sporting chapter. His life with Andrew gives it a future beyond competition.
Retirement was real. So was the decision to return. And, apparently, there is still more he wants to do.
📷 @guskenworthy @ariggers
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