Maddie Mastro of the United States eased to victory in the FIS Snowboard Halfpipe World Cup in north China’s Chongli, followed by Chinese veteran Olympian Cai Xuetong, as the first halfpipe event of the 2024-25 FIS World Cup season concluded here on Sunday.
Mastro scored 88.75 points from her second run, clinching her first World Cup title. Three-time world champion Cai fell in her first run, but came back strong in her second attempt and captured the last chance to throw a series of brilliant tricks in her third run to finish second with 86.25 points. The bronze medal went to another US snowboarder Madeline Schaffrick, who notched 85.25 points from her first run.
“I feel really good. I’ve never won a World Cup before, so it’s really good feeling to finally stand on top of that podium,” said Mastro after the competition. “I’ve won second and third for like 15 times… So [being the champion] feels so good.”
“Actually I don’t have any regrets,” 31-year-old Cai told Xinhua. “Because I’ve successfully presented many of my tricks in a single run. I’m truly satisfied. The atmosphere today was amazing, every girl did perfectly. They empowered me a lot.”
Cai’s compatriot Wu Shaotong finished sixth with a score of 69.75 points after her first run.
“My first run was fine with lower difficulty. There are some regrets because I tried tricks with higher difficulty in my second and third runs, but it didn’t go through. I tried my best today,” said Wu.
On the men’s side, 23-year-old Japanese Yuto Totsuka impressed the field with a stunning 95.50 points in his third run to pocket the title. Following behind was Scotty James of Australia. The Beijing Winter Olympic silver medalist achieved 88.25 points in his third run.
The bronze medal was taken by Japan’s Ryusei Yamada, who earned 87.75 points from his first run. Beijing 2022 gold medalist Ayumu Hirano of Japan finished fourth with 86.25 points.