Beijing. Teenage skiers Hiroto Ogiwara of Japan and Britain’s Mia Brooks won the men’s and women’s snowboard big air titles respectively at the FIS World Cup in Beijing on Sunday.
19-year-old Ogiwara won with 169.50 points, four points ahead of runner-up Ian Matteoli of Italy, while China’s Yang Wenlong finished third and reached the podium for the first time at the World Cup.
Matteoli stunned the spectators in the first race by completing all 2160 laps and scoring an impressive 97.75 points. However, the Italian failed to maintain the pace in the final two runs and ultimately finished second.
The 25-year-old Yang, who finished first in the men’s qualification heat 1 on Saturday, was pleased to take home his best performance.
“I tried to remain stable in every run and focus on each move. I still need to work hard and prepare for the Asian Winter Games and the 2026 Winter Olympics next year,” he told Xinhua.Beijing Winter Olympic champion Su Yiming of China finished last in the final.
In women’s snowboard big air, 17-year-old Brooks finished on top with 179.75 points, followed by Japan’s Mari Fukada and Austrian veteran Anna Gasser in second and third.
Earlier on Sunday, Norway’s Tormod Frostad and French skier Tess Ledoux were crowned champions in men’s and women’s freeski big air at Shougang in Beijing.
