Jake Canter Is 'Grateful to Be Alive' 10 Years After Near-Death Experience, Would Love to Turn His Bronze Medal Into 'Gold' Post-Winter Olympics

Jake Canter is grateful he made it to the podium with a bronze medal in his first Olympic competition.

The 22-year-old snowboarder, who made his Olympic debut at the 2026 Milan Cortina Games on NBC and Peacock this year, was involved in a scary accident in 2016 after colliding with another trampoline user who drifted off course mid-air. He suffered a fractured skull and brain bleeding, later developing severe earaches. He eventually passed out at home, leading to his hospitalization. Doctors discovered his injury caused a spinal fluid leakage, which in turn led to bacterial meningitis.

He was then placed in medically induced coma for six days to fight off the infection, and his doctors told his parents he had a 20 percent chance of survival. Fortunately, he recovered and is doing better than ever.

"It’s unbelievable," the athlete exclusively tells OK! while talking about his partnership with Red Bull. "There was a lot of doubt from doctors and people around me, but I had an incredible support system — my family, coaches and doctors. They helped me go from not being able to walk to standing here today with a medal. I just wanted to put in the same effort for them that they put into helping me recover."

Though he was pretty "young at the time," Canter knew he wasn't ready to give up on his dreams just yet.

"When I came out of the coma I remember asking my mom, 'Am I dying?' But one of the first things I said after that was, 'When can I ski again?' Skiing has always been my escape and my passion. I just wanted to walk out of that hospital and figure out how to get back on skis," he shares.

After winning the bronze medal in men’s slopestyle at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina, Canter preservered.

"There were ICU nurses who were shocked just to see me walking again," he recalls. "So yeah, maybe that started a bit of a 'prove people wrong' mentality. But mostly I’m just grateful to even be alive. That experience changed my perspective at a young age."

Before the Milan Olympics, he earned his first FIS Snowboard World Cup victory in slopestyle at the U.S. Grand Prix in Aspen in 2026, which helped secure his spot on the U.S. Olympic team.

"I was definitely hoping it would turn out this way in some capacity, but honestly, I was just happy to make the team. It’s incredibly stressful just getting onto the team — there are so many talented riders, especially in the U.S.," he says. "Our U.S. crew is unbelievable. It’s so stacked. Just making it to the Games almost felt like a sigh of relief. So to be there representing snowboarding and pushing the sport with everyone was an honor."

Being on the podium was also a surreal moment for Canter to take in.

"It was unbelievable. This was my first Olympics, so just being there was already amazing," he says. "I missed Beijing, so I had a lot of motivation going into this one. Watching fellow U.S. rider Red Gerard win gold in PyeongChang was super motivating. When I got on the podium, my adrenaline was through the roof. I honestly didn’t know what was going on — I was just looking around at the cameras, my family and my girlfriend. It was unreal."

After such a draining day, Canter admits he took it easy after scoring his major win.

"For me it actually took a while to come down from the adrenaline. I was exhausted. I kept it pretty chill — went back, changed, had a nice dinner and a couple drinks with close friends," he shares.

Additionally, to have Red Bull backing him is a dream come true.

"I got on Red Bull when I was around 15. At that age, having a Red Bull helmet felt like the biggest achievement in the world —even bigger than an Olympic medal at the time," he notes. "When I got it, I literally slept next to it for a month. I couldn’t believe it. They’ve been incredibly supportive with training, performance centers, nutritionists, physical therapists — everything you need as an athlete."

For now, Canter is taking it one step at a time — though the next Olympics are "120 percent on my radar."

"I’d love to turn this bronze into a gold," he states. "I’m mostly planning to enjoy spring riding with friends and work on some Red Bull projects. Honestly, just snowboarding as much as possible sounds pretty perfect right now. Just a huge thank you to Red Bull. I wouldn’t be here without them. From training camps to performance centers, they’ve supported me through injuries and helped me prepare for seasons like this."