Australian teen snowboard prodigy Valentino Guseli has recorded his first slopestyle podium of the season at the perfect time, with a bronze medal performance on the final day of the season dramatically snatching the overall park and pipe Crystal Globe in Silvaplana, Switzerland.

The overall park and pipe Crytal Globe includes results from halfpipe, big air and slopestyle and heading into the final day of competition for the season, Guseli needed to finish well ahead of Japanese rider Ryoma Kimata who had a significant lead in the standings, to defend the historic title he won last year as a 17-year-old.

In qualifying, Kimata had his worst performance of the season finishing in 50th, with Gueli advancing to the final in first place, which meant he would need to finish in fourth place or better to move into first place and take the Crystal Globe.
In the best of two fun final, Guseli was consistent on both runs, opening with a score of 77.31, and then improved in the second run, receiving a score of 83.77 points from the judges to give him third place and enough points to secure back-to-back overall Crystal Globes.

Ahead of Guseli on the podium was Canadian Liam Brearley in second on 88.10 points and Taiga Hasegawa of Japan with the best score of 88.52 points.

Guseli now has nine career World Cup medals competing in the three park and pipe disciplines of halfpipe, slopestyle, and big air, and three Crystal Globes.

“I am super stoked with the way today went, in my second run I landed one of the best runs of my life” said the 18-year-old from Dalmeny on the NSW South Coast.

“Got on the podium and got the globe, which was my main goal, and from my side I don’t think today could have gone much better, I am super proud of my performance.”

“To win the overall, which means to be the most consistent out of all three freestyle disciplines, I am honoured to have won it for the second year in a row.”

“This season has been an interesting one, there has been lots of ups and downs, but I definitely feel like I have learned a lot this year, and I am super happy with where my snowboarding is right now.”

Also competing for Australia in Silvaplana was Joshua Robertson-Hahn in 36th and Meila Stalker 18th in the women's slopestyle event.

In the freeski slopestyle, Abi Harrigan finished in 11th matching her World Cup personal best, and in the men's competition Kai Martin was 34th and Cameron Waddell 51st.

Silvaplana and nearby St Moritz will host the 2025 Snowboard and Freestyle World Championships in March next year, as the major lead up event to the 2026 Milano-Cortina Olympic Winter Games in February 2026. less than two years away.

Over the weekend in Tignes, France, a World Cup slopestyle (snowboard and freeski) and big air event (freeski) took place, with NSWIS rider Meila Stalker the best performed Australian finishing in ninth place. Stalker qualified for finals in tenth place and in the best of two-run final had her highest score in run one with 50.25, giving her a ninth place ranking.

2023 World Cup Overall Park & Pipe champion Valentino Guseli was drawn in heat number two in the qualification round and finished in ninth place, just missing out on the top-eight needed to advance to the final. In the final rankings Guseli was 24th once scored were used to rank riders from both heats. Guseli is currently ranked third in the overall park & pipe standings, after finishing the season ranked second in halfpipe, 12th in big air and with one event remaining is 27thin slopestyle.

In the freeski events, Kai Martin had a personal best World Cup performance, finishing 23rd in the slopestyle and in the big air finished in 43rd. Cam Waddell finished 55th in slopestyle and 45th in big air. 2022 Olympian Abi Harrigan was the sole competitor for Australia in the women’s freeski slopestyle and big air, placing 12th in both events.

Next weekend the skiers and boarders will compete in Silvaplana, Switzerland, for the final event of the season on March 23 for snowboard and March 24 for freeski.

Australian teen snowboard prodigy Valentino Guseli has recorded his first career victory in the halfpipe event, with an impressive gold medal performance in Calgary, Canada.

In the best of three fun final, the 18-year-old Guseli lead from start to finish, with the highest scoring opening round run with 89.25 points, and then went even better in the second run increasing his score to 91.50.

When no other riders were able to match Guseli’s scores from the first two runs, Guseli was able to complete a “victory lap” in the third and final run celebrating with the large crowd on his way down the Calgary halfpipe.

Behind Guseli on the podium were Japanese riders Ruka Hirano in second place with a best score of 88.25 points, and Shuichiro Shigeno in third on 86.75 points.

Guseli now has eight career World Cup medals competing in the three park and pipe disciplines of halfpipe, slopestyle, and big air, with one victory so far in each of the halfpipe and big air disciplines.

“I really do like Canada, the two wins I have had in a World Cup are in Canada, and I am super happy,” said the 2023 World Championship medallist from Dalmeny on the NSW South Coast.

“The pipe was great, the snow was great, and the crowd was great, my favourite thing is when there is a massive crowd out to support us.”

“Today was a good day, I landed all of my runs, and I am happy.”

Dual Olympic medallist and triple World Champion Scotty James tweaked his knee during training at the event and withdrew before the qualifying round.

The final World Cup halfpipe rankings for the season has Hirano of Japan in first place on 300 points, Guseli second on 230, and James one point behind in third on 229.

In the women’s event two-time Olympian Emily Arthur finished eighth in the final.

Guseli will now turn his attention to the slopestyle discipline, with World Cup events taking place in Spindleruv Mlyn in the Czech Republic on March 16 and Silvaplana in St Moritz, Switzerland, on March 23.

NSWIS snowboarder Emily Arthur has narrowly missed out on the ten-woman finals field at the World Cup halfpipe event in Mammoth Mountain, USA, finishing in 11th place.In the best of two-run qualifying round, Arthur's best score came in her first run with 49.75 points from the judges.

Arthur was the only Australian to compete in Mammoth, with teen-sensation Valentino Guseli having to withdraw due to a rib injury suffered in training for the X-Games the previous week in Aspen
.
A World Cup halfpipe competition will take place on February 10 in Calgary, Canada, with Scotty James, Valentino Guseli, Emily Arthur all in action. Snow Australia rider Sascha Elvy will also be competing, in her first World Cup of the season following a 12th last week at the Youth Olympic Games in Korea.

Scotty James has joined legendary snowboarder Shaun White as the only men to win three straight X-Games halfpipe gold medals, after winning his sixth career X-Games gold medal under lights in Aspen, USA.

James has now won an incredible six X-Games golds and has nine career medals in the prestigious invitation only event featuring the world’s best halfpipe riders.

In the best of three fun final, James lead from start to finish, with the highest scoring opening round run with a score of 88 points, and then increased his jump package in the second run with a switch-back-1260 on the final hit to boost his score and receive 93 points from the judges.

With no rider able to match James, he was able to complete a “victory lap” in the third and final run celebrating on his way down the Aspen superpipe.

Joining James on the podium were Japanese riders Ruka Hirano in second with a best score of 87, with Kaishu Hirano in third on 86.33 points.

“Thank you Aspen, absolutely amazing event, it was so great to ride in front of everyone tonight,” said the 29-year-old from Warrandyte in Victoria.

“I am really stoked, and I just feel like a little kid again riding, and that’s showing though which has been really fun, and I am enjoying snowboarding so much.”

“To join that record with Shaun is pretty nice.”

In the women's event NSWIS rider Emily Arthur made her X-Games debut finishing in seventh place.

Unfortunately snowboard teen sensation Valentino Gueli and 2022 Olympic medallist Tess Coady who won their first career medals at the X-Games last year, were both unable to compete after sustaining an injury in training.

In a historic night for Australian snowboarding, Scotty James and Valentino Guseli have claimed gold and silver in the halfpipe event in Laax, Switzerland, the first time Australia has taken out the top two spots in the sport.

In a spectacular final under lights, both James and Guseli put down two great runs with both riders displaying huge amplitude, style and super difficult tricks.

James best score in the two run-final came in his first run, where the VIS rider scored 94 points to record the ninth World Cup win of his impressive career and third victory in the Laax halfpipe.

NSWIS rider Guseli scored 90 points on his first run, and then in the final round stepped it up performing a trick that had never been landed in competition, landing a frontside 1620 tailgrab to score 92.25 points and finish in second place.

Rounding out the podium was Ruka Hirano of Japan who registered 90 points on his final run.

“I feel pretty damm good, it’s tough to win this event so tonight I had to bring my best and it feels amazing to stand on top of the podium” said James the two-time Olympic medallist and triple World Champion from Warrandyte in Victoria.

“Laax feels like a home away from home, it’s always such an incredible the event, the fans and the crowd and the atmosphere is always really special here and unmatched.”

James on his impressive switch McTwist pullback to regular jump.

“It’s something I brought in this year, and I really try to push creativity and technicality in snowboarding, and of course you can’t really do these things without a lot of amplitude and execution, so tonight it was thankfully a combination of all those things which is really nice.”

For Guseli, the podium performance is the seventh World Cup medal of his career, and first in the Laax halfpipe. “To get to the bottom of two runs and having stomped them both, and I think they are some of the best runs I have done, so I am really happy and stoked to have some momentum rolling into the season,” said the 18-year-old teen snowboard prodigy from Dalmeny on the NSW South Coast.

“He (Scotty James) is amazing, coming from Australia we actually don’t have a 22-foot halfpipe anywhere in the whole country, and it’s pretty crazy being second to one of the guys that is the best to ever do it and we are both from the same country and can hold our flag up really high which is a beautiful thing.”

In the women's event two-time Olympian Emily Arthur finished in 20th place.

James and Guseli have now travelled to Aspen, USA, for the X-Games on January 26.

2022 Olympic bronze medallist Tess Coady has started the new year in strong form, just missing the podium in fourth place in the slopestyle event in Laax, Switzerland.

Coady was in excellent form during qualifying for the star studded eight-woman final, landing in second place.
In the best of two run final under sunny skies, the NSWIS rider unfortunately fell on her first run, but put down a solid second run scoring 66.13 points to move into third place with one rider remaining.

But the last rider of the day Annika Morgan of Germany handled the pressure to score 80.75 points and finish in second place, which bumped Coady down into fourth.

Taking the win was American Julia Marino on a best score of 83.08 points, with two-time Olympic gold medallist Anna Gasser of Austria in third with 75.93.

Also in action for Australia was fellow NSWIS rider Meila Stalker who finished in 14th place and Valentino Guseli who had the two events in two different disciplines in 20th place.

In the men’s freeski slopestyle, Snow Australia skiers Cameron Waddell finished in 45th place and Kai Martin in 55th.
Coady is now in Aspen, USA, for the X-Games which will take place this weekend.

Valentino Guseli also took part in the big air event in Copper Mountain, which was the fourth and final big air World Cup of the season.

Guseli put down two impressive jumps with 1800 degree spins, scoring 87 points for jump one and 90.50 for jump two, but he missed by one place on qualifying for the 10-man final, finishing in 11th.

Also in action for Australia was Joshua Robertson-Hahn who was 18th in qualifying in his heat, giving him a ranking of 33rd place.

On the final big air standings, Guseli finished the season ranked 12th, with Robertson-Hahn in 40th. Laax, Switzerland, will host the next slopestyle and halfpipe World Cup events scheduled for January 17-20.

NSWIS snowboard super teen Valentino Guseli has narrowly missed out on the podium at the World Cup snowboard halfpipe event in Copper Mountain, USA, finishing in fourth place.

Competing in his first halfpipe event of the season, the 18-year-old qualified for the final in equal first place, after scoring 95.25 points in heat two.

VIS three-time World Champion Scotty James also qualified for the final in first place, scoring a massive 95.50 in heat one.

In the best of three run final, many riders struggled to put runs down without errors, but in the third round several competitors rose to the occasion and put down clean runs.

Guseli was unlucky not to land on the podium after an impressive final run, receiving a score of 77.25 points from the judges missing the podium by just 0.75 points.

In first place was 2022 Olympic Champion Ayumu Hirano of Japan who scored 91 points, with Korean Chaeun Lee in second with 80 points and rounding out the podium in third was Yuto Totsuka on 78 points.

Scotty James had a rare bad final, unable to put a clean run down, finishing in ninth place.

In the women’s event, two-time NSWIS Olympian Emily Arthur just missed the eight-woman final finishing in ninth place.

Scotty James has started the season in the best possible way, taking home a gold medal in the opening snowboard halfpipe World Cup in Secret, Garden, China, his eighth career World Cup win, and the third most by any male snowboard halfpipe rider.
 
Competing on the 2022 Olympic course where he claimed the silver medal, James led all qualifiers, and came out firing in the first round of finals scoring 91.25 points from the judges to put him in first place.
 
All riders had three runs in finals, and none came close to James first run score, ensuring the 29-year-old from Warrandyte could perform a “victory lap” on his final run, knowing his score could not be bettered as the final competitor.
 
Behind James on the podium was Japanese rider Ruka Hirano with a best score of 88.25 points, and rounding out the podium in third was Korean Chaeun Lee with 87.50.
 
“Feels like a bit of redemption for sure from the Olympic Games, but I have always had a good time in Secret Garden and the halfpipe is incredible and honestly today was as heavy as a show as the Olympics” said the two-time Olympic medallist and triple World Champion.
 
“Everyone really brought it and I had to bring my best, really awesome to share the podium with these boys and it’s been a fine day for sure.”
 
“I came unstuck last season at the World Championships which was frustrating, and funnily enough the frontside 1400 that I landed today was a bit of a testament for me, as that was what I crashed at my last event, so I wanted to come out and land it today and put that run together, it felt really nice and super happy overall.”
 
James will next be in action competing at the World Cup event in Copper Mountain, USA, next weekend on December 16.
 
Australia’s teen snowboard sensation Valentino Guseli did not compete in the halfpipe in China as the event clashed with the big air snowboard city event this weekend in Edmonton, Canada, where Guseli will be aiming to repeat his victory from last year at the Canadian city venue.

It has been an incredible start to the 2023-2024 northern hemisphere winter for Australia with a gold medal overnight to mogul skier Jakara Anthony in Ruka, Finland, and a silver medal in the big air in Beijing, China, for snowboarder Tess Coady.

It was the opening event of the season for the 2022 Olympic medallists, with Anthony winning for the second consecutive time to start the season in Ruka and for Coady the second place finish was the best big air result of her World Cup career.

In the first FIS World Cup event in China since the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games, Tess Coady had the best big air finish of her career, taking home a silver medal in the city night event.

Competing in the three run final with your best two jumps counting, Coady scored 84.75 points in her opening back double 1080 melon jump, and then stepped it up in the final round with 86.25 points for her front 1080 double tail grab jump, giving her a two jump combined score of 171 points.

Recording victory was two-time Olympic big air champion Anna Gaser of Austria with 174 points, with Japanese rider Miyabi Onitsuka rounding out the podium scoring 170.50.

“Super happy with how this competition went in China, I love the jump, it’s one on the best city big airs in the world” said the 23-year-old Coady from Melbourne.

“It’s been a really fun trip, it’s really cool to check out Beijing as last time we were here we didn’t get to see the city.”

Also in action for Australia was Valentino Guseli in 16th and Joshua Robertson-Hahn in 22nd.

Coady will now return home to Australia, with Guseli and Robertson-Hahn heading to Edmonton for the next big air World Cup event, where Guseli will be aiming to make it back-to-back victories at the Canadian city venue.

The FIS Snowboard & Freeski Park & Pipe World Cup tour commenced last month in Chur, Switzerland, with a big air event taking place.

China will host a big air World Cup in Beijing this weekend, and then a halfpipe World Cup event at the 2022 Olympic venue the following weekend in Secret Garden.

Teen sensation and reigning big air World Cup champion Valentino Guseli will no doubt feature strongly in China, after qualifying for finals in second place at the opening World Cup in Chur, finishing seventh in the final.

"It's very cool to be back, I had a great time here my first time in this country for the Olympics, and now here for another great time" said Guseli.

"Training has gone great so far, the jump is super nice and I'm ready to go ham. My goals for the rest of the season are nothing short of winning everything. Either way, I am definitely going to give it my all."

Tess Coady will be competing in her first big air event since claiming bronze at the 2023 World Championships.

"Super great to be back in China. Definitely a different vibe to last time we were here, It’s really nice to be back with the snowboard crew all just staying in the same hotel, vibing, shredding, so it’s good," said Coady.

"Training has been going well so far. We just had our first practice day and the jump is riding really well, so we will see how the next few days unfold, the team is looking solid."

"I’m looking forward to spending some time on this jump, and in the air and getting back into the contest season."
Also in the men’s event will be Snow Australia rider Joshua Robertson-Hahn, competing in the second World Cup of his career.

Freeski will also be in action in Beijing, with Kai Martin the sole Australian representative in big air.

Snowboard Halfpipe
The following weekend in China will see the first FIS Snowboard Halfpipe World Cup of the year take place in Secret Garden, with two-time Olympic Medallist and triple World Champion Scotty James the lone Australian in action. The Secret Garden resort was the location for the 2022 Olympic Winter Games where James took home the silver medal in an epic Olympic halfpipe final.

Halfpipe qualifying in Secret Garden is on December 6th with the final two days later on December 8th.

Valentino Guseli will not be able to compete in the halfpipe event in China, as another big air World Cup is scheduled at the same time in Edmonton, Canada, where Guseli claimed the first world Cup victory of his career 12 months ago.

The World Cup snowboard season kicked off in Chur, Switzerland, on the 21st of October, with a big air event to open the season.

Defending his Overall Park & Pipe World Cup and Big Air titles from last season, teen snowboard prodigy Valentino Guseli, made a strong start to the event, qualifying for the final in second place after scoring 87 points on his first jump.

In the 10-man final, where two of your three jumps counts towards your final score, Guseli’s best jump was his second, where the judges gave him 82.75 points, but he unfortunately had trouble with his landing on his first and third jumps, with his next counting score being a 26.50 from his final jump, giving him a final two jump score of 109.25, putting him in seventh place.

Also in action for Australia was Joshua Robertson-Hahn who finished in 24th in his World Cup debut.

Japanese riders made it a clean sweep of the men's podium, with Ogiwara Hiroto claiming victory with a two jump score of 171.50, with Kira Kimura in second on 168 and Takeru Otsuka in third.

In the freeski big air, Kai Martin also made his Word Cup debut, placing 40th overall. The next snowboard big air World Cup will be in Beijing, China, on December 2nd, with Olympic bronze medallist Tess Coady to make her season debut, with Guseli and Robertson-Hahn also competing.

The first freeski slopestyle event of the season for Martin will take place on November 24-25 in Stubai, Austria, before the skiers also head to China to join the snowboarders in Beijing.

At the park and pipe final event in Silvaplana, Switzerland, snowboard teen-sensation Valentino Guseli received the Crystal Globe as the overall World Cup winner, his second globe of the season.
 
In a historic season, Guseli became the first snowboarder to ever record podium performances in the same season in three separate disciplines – big air, slopestyle, and halfpipe.
 
With each discipline becoming so specialised, Guseli’s achievement is truly extraordinary at just 17-years-of-age, as no other rider is capable of performing in more than one event at such a high level.
 
In total, Guseli had six podium performances over the season, with big air victory in Edmonton, slopestyle silver in Mammoth Mountain, and in the halfpipe, World Championship silver in Bakuriani, World Cup silver in Mammoth Mountain and Calgary, and bronze at the X-Games in Aspen.
 
On the final standings Guseli also won the Crystal Globe in big air, was second in halfpipe and third in slopestyle.

IMAGE: Overall World Cup champion Guseli with slopestyle winner Dusty Henricksen of the USA

Tess Coady has wrapped up her competition season in style, with a silver medal performance in the slopestyle event at the World Cup final at Silvaplana, in the iconic St Moritz-Engadin region of Switzerland.

The podium performance is the third of the season for the 22-year-old NSWIS snowboarder from Melbourne, also claiming a bronze medal earlier this month in the big air discipline at the World Championships in Bakuriani, and a silver medal in slopestyle during January at the X-Games in Aspen.

In the best of two run final, Coady made an impressive start with the highest score of all competitors in the first run, her high-quality rail section and jumps giving her a score of 85 points.

After the rail section at the top, her jumps included a frontside 900 tail grab, switch backside 900 Weddle, and finally a backside double cork 1080 Weddle to cap things off.

“Stoked to finish the competition season on the blocks with Julia and Anna. Time for some spring shredding,” said the 2022 Olympic bronze medallist.

American Julia Marino just edged Coady in the final run, scoring 87.25 points to record victory, with Austrian Anna Gasser rounding out the podium in third with 82.25

Also in the final was NSWIS rider Melia Stalker, who had a personal best World Cup finish in eighth place, her best run coming in the first run with a 57.25.

Later in the day, the men’s snowboard qualifying took place. Big Air World Cup Champion Valentino Guseli finished well down in 20th place and fellow teenager Jesse Parkinson was 24th. Both riders missed out on advancing to the final.

Tess Coady has finished the 2023 World Championships for Australia in style, taking home a bronze medal in the big air snowboard event in Bakuriani, Georgia. This is the largest ever medal haul for Australian at a World Championships, with six medals won in total, including four silver and two bronze.
 
The 2022 Olympic slopestyle bronze medallist made a great start in the three-run final with the two highest scoring jumps counting towards the final score, stomping a massive backside-1080-indi grab on her first hit. Coady then backed it up with a clean frontside-900-tail grab jump in run two, scoring 68.50 points.
 
In her third and final jump, Coady attempted a frontside-1080-tail grab jump, but was unable to land, with the jump not counting towards her final score.
 
The scores from her first two jumps gave her a total score of 153.25 points, putting her in third place. Coady now has a World Championship medal in two disciplines, adding to her slopestyle bronze from Aspen in 2021.
 
Recording the victory was Anna Gasser from Austria with a total score of 162.50, with Japanese rider Miyabi Onitsuka in second with 161.25.
 
“I am super stoked, I had pretty low expectations coming into today, with bad weather in the forecast, I was just hoping the conditions would be ok, but when we got here the landing was super soft and no wind, so it was sick,” said the 22-year-old from Melbourne.
 
“I definitely wanted to do the backside 1080 today, I did it in the slopestyle and it felt really good on that jump, I just had to make sure I got the speed right.”
 
“Its always hard to rally for big air after competing in slopestyle earlier in the week, I feel like slopestyle is my discipline, so I kind of put my heart and soul into that, so to come out with a medal in big air is really good.”
 
“The performance of the Australian team has been insane, you see your fellow Aussies doing well and it lifts you and you want to carry that momentum.”

Teen snowboard prodigy Valentino Guseli has claimed the silver medal in an incredible halfpipe performance at Bakuriani, Georgia, taking home his first ever World Championship medal.
 
After battling injury all week which forced Guseli to miss the slopestyle and big air events, the 17-year-old pushed on to win Australia’s fifth medal at the World Championships.
 
In the best of three run final, Guseli fell on his first run, but improved to score 83.25 points on his second run, then stepped it up in the final run adding a cab-triple-1440 to score a huge 93 points, narrowly missing victory by just half a point to fellow teenager Chaeun Lee of Korea. Rounding out the podium in third place was Swiss rider Jan Scherrer with 89.25.
 
Three-time World Champion and two-time Olympic medallist Scotty James just missed recording his fifth career World Championship medal , finishing in fifth place with his best score of 86.50 points coming in his second run.
 
“I am pretty stoked, considering that a week ago I was crawling around my apartment not sure if I was going to be able to do anything here, I am really happy,” said Guseli who hails from Dalmeny on the NSW South Coast.
 
“The cab-triple-1440 was a trick I learnt in November, and I have been struggling a little bit with it all year, I perfected it a week before coming here training in Laax, Switzerland, landing five in a row and felt really comfortable with them.”
 
“All of my success this year has been a process, I obviously wanted that the first year I was at World Cup riding at this level three years ago, but it’s been a process figuring everything out and happy to be finally trying to match it with the best in the world.”
 
“I grew up watching Scotty James, and now to be almost at a level where kids look up to me the same is pretty amazing.”
 
“If you want it enough you will make it happen, it’s all heart, put your heart into it and you will get it.”
 
The final event at the World Championships is scheduled to take place on Sunday, with Tess Coady representing Australia in the big air final.

Tess Coady has narrowly missed the podium with a fourth-place finish in the slopestyle event at the World Championships in Bakuriani, Georgia.

After qualifying for finals in sixth place earlier in the day, the 2022 Olympic bronze medallist stepped it up in finals, scoring 78.88 points on her first run, and put down an even better second run with 82.85 points, with the improvement coming in her jumps, missing out on the second World Championship podium of her career by just 0.20 points.

Taking the win was Mia Brookes from Great Britain who scored a 91.38, with New Zealander Zoe Sadowski Synnott in second place on 88.78, with Miyabi Onitsuka of Japan in third with 83.05.
 
“I am so stoked with how today went” said the 22-year-old from Melbourne.

“I was so nervous for qualifications, but when you’re in the final you can just play around and it’s your time to shine I guess."

“My last run I was really stoked with, as I was already in fourth, and I had four points to make up to be on the podium.  Talking to my coach Stan, we were like, should we just do a clean-up run, and I was like, you know what, I am here to put it all on the table, so I did, and I landed it and it felt really good so was hyped with how I rode.

“It was a really long day, we were out getting ready for practise whilst it was still dark, so been on the mountain for a few hours. This is the best weather we have had since we have been here, the snow is slushy, and that’s what you get when you have good weather, the performances were sick.”

Making their World Championship debuts were NSWIS riders Melia Stalker who made finals finishing in 11th place and Jessie Parkinson in 23rd.

The slopestyle athletes will be back in action in Bakuriani competing in the big air event qualifications on Saturday, with finals on Sunday.

Teenage snowboard sensation Valentino Guseli has claimed back-to-back World Cup halfpipe silver medals, after finishing second in Calgary, Canada, and also made finals in the slopestyle event with a sixth place performance.

The halfpipe competition in Calgary was the final World Cup tour event of the season, with the podium performance moving Guseli into second place in the end of season rankings.

The NSWIS rider has further increased his lead the top of the World Cup snowboard standings, incorporating results from halfpipe, slopestyle and big air events in the race for the overall park & pipe “crystal globe” title.

\In the best of three run finals format, Guseli had his highest score in his final run, scoring 82 points, to give the 17-year-old the sixth World Cup podium of his career.

Finishing ahead of Guseli in first place was Japanese rider Ruka Hirano with 88.50 points, with his fellow countryman Shuichiro Shigeno in third with 81.75.

Also in action for Australia making her World Cup debut was Sascha Elvy in ninth place, just missing out on the eight woman final.

Two days later Guseli was back in action competing in the slopestyle discipline.

Drawn in heat two, Guseli qualified for finals in second place giving him a direct path to the final avoiding the semi-final stage.

In the best of three run final, Guseli had his highest score in run two, with 70.70 points, which put him in sixth place.

The teenager is now ranked an incredible first by an unassailable margin of 126 points in the overall snowboard park & pipe standings, and has already finished the season ranked second in halfpipe, first in big air and is currently second in slopestyle with only one event remaining in Silvaplana, Switzerland, on March 26.

Up next is the FIS Snowboard World Championships in Bakuriani, Georgia, which will run from February 19 to March 5, with Guseli's first event the snowboard slopestyle qualifications on February 24.

Teen snowboard prodigy Valentino Guseli has created history to become only the fourth snowboarder to podium in all three park and pipe disciplines of big air, slopestyle and halfpipe, and the first rider to ever achieve the feat in the one season after a double podium performance in Mammoth Mountain, USA.
 
With each discipline becoming so specialised, Guseli’s achievement is truly extraordinary at just 17-yers-of-age, as no other rider is capable of performing in more than one event at such a high level.
 
Competing in the best of three run halfpipe final, Guseli’s put down his highest scoring run first up with 85.25 points.
 
Guseli’s run began with the massive switch method that has been his signature this season, before going switch frontside 1080 indy, then a frontside 1260 tail grab, a backside 900 weddle, and finally a near-perfect frontside 1440 tail grab.
 
Japanese rider Ruka Hirano finished in first place with a score of 91.50 points, with American Chase Blackwell taking the final spot on the podium in third with 84 points.
 
Guseli was then scheduled to quickly back up his halfpipe performance by competing in the slopestyle final straight after, but unfortunately increasing high winds forced the event to be cancelled due to rider safety.
 
This meant that results from the qualification round ran three days earlier would stand as the final results, which had Guseli in second place with a score of 81.50 in his first run, with American Dusty Henricksen taking the win with a score of 88.68 and his teammate Chris Corning in third with 81.33.
 
“I’m just super hyped to have landed my tricks this week and got some pretty good results,” Guseli said before slopestyle awards, downplaying his history-making week, “It’s a little bit unfortunate we didn’t get to have at it today in slopestyle, but I’m happy pipe ran and I’m happy with my riding.”
 
Pushed to consider all the great riders who had come before him and not accomplished what he’s done this season, Guseli dove into it a little further.
 
“Wow. I guess I’m not really feeling it too much yet, but I’m honoured. I’m so hyped. I just want to keep pushing - for podiums, wins, records…I guess (laughing). But really I just want to keep loving my life and snowboarding and hanging out with awesome people and being in awesome situations like this one.”
 
Guseli’s other World Cup podium performance this season came in December with a big air gold medal in Edmonton, Canada, and he also won his first ever X-Games medal with a bronze in Aspen, USA, last week. 
 
The snowboard athletes will now head to Calgary, Canada, for the next round of World Cup competition, which will include a halfpipe event on February 10 and slopestyle on February 12.

Australian athletes have had a record day at the winter X-Games in Aspen, USA, featuring a first ever double medal performance in the halfpipe with Scotty James claiming his sixth X-Games victory together with super teen Valentino Guseli in bronze and his first X-Games podium. Tess Coady also claimed her first X-Games hardware with silver in the ladies snowboard slopestyle.

In snowy conditions in front of a huge crowd at the Aspen halfpipe, VIS athlete James was again the dominant rider, with two outstanding runs giving him back-to-back victories at the event. With victory secure, James could perform a “victory lap” on his third and final run, high fiving the crowd on his way down. Only the legendary Shaun White has more X-Games halfpipe titles with eight.

NSWIS teen snowboarding prodigy Valentino Guseli was also impressive with his maiden podium performance at the X-Games, with a spectacular third and final run to put him into second place. Swiss rider Jan Scherrer just managed to relegate Guseli into third place on his final run.

“This feels amazing, it’s hard to put into words how excited I am,” James said after his run.

“It was pretty challenging conditions to say the least as it was dumping so much, but I feel really happy to be riding with everyone and seeing how all adapted to the conditions.”

SLOPESTYLE SILVER FOR COADY
In the slopestyle event, 2022 Olympic bronze medallist Coady had her best result of the season to claim her first ever medal at the X-Games, and be the first Australian snowboard slopestyle medallist finishing in second place.

The NSWIS rider moved into first place in her third and final run, and was unlucky to not take the win, with the judges awarding first place to Olympic Champion Zoi Sadowski-Synnott on the last run of the day. Rounding out the podium was Kokomo Murase of Japan in third.

The following day Coady was back in action competing in the big air event, where she finished in eighth place.

Teen sensation Valentino Guseli has capped off an impressive week in Laax, Switzerland, with a second top-five performance, this time in the slopestyle discipline.

Guseli had his best run in the slopestyle final in his opening run, scoring 78.30 points. Unfortunately, he was not able to improve his score in the second run, finishing the event in fifth place, just 1.93 points off the podium. 

"My goal here was to just make finals in both events, which I was happy to have done" said the 17-year-old from Dalmeny on the NSW South Coast.

"Pipe finals got cancelled last night, but was happy with where I stood in qualifications and today we had slope finals and I didn't quite get the run I wanted to, but still landed a run I was happy with and ended up getting fifth."

"It's pretty good for my second time trying to mix halfpipe and slopestyle in the same competition, so I am happy I have been consistent and landed my stuff, and look forward to trying to get podiums in both events next time."

NSWIS Olympic bronze medallist Tess Coady was unlucky not to score higher from the judges in her qualifying run to advance to the top eight for finals, finishing 12th.

Also in action for Australia were NSWIS riders Meila Stalker in 23rd in her first ever World Cup slopestyle start, and youngster Jesse Parkinson in 55th.

Coady and Guseli will now head to Aspen, USA, for the X-Games which will run from January 27-29, with Coady competing in the slopestyle and big air, with Guseli confirmed for the halfpipe and an alternate in big air.

It was an impressive showing for Australian snowboard athletes in the halfpipe in Laax, Switzerland, with three top-6 performances, led by VIS rider Scotty James who claimed the 12th World Cup podium performance of his career.

Poor visibility in Laax resulted in the night-time final being cancelled, with results from the qualification round used to determine the final placings.Heading into the event wearing the yellow leaders bib as the number one ranked rider,
James was again impressive with two high quality runs in qualifying, with his highest scoring run coming in run two, with a huge score of 95 points. Finishing just ahead of James by just 0.25 points in first place was Ruka Hirano from Japan, with his teammate Yuto Totskua rounding out the podium in third scoring 91.50.

NSWIS teenage sensation Valentino Guseli was close to securing his first ever halfpipe podium, finishing in fourth place. Showing his incredible versatility as a snowboarder, Guseli also just missed the slopestyle podium finishing in fifth place over the weekend.

After two events, James is sitting comfortably in first place on the World Cup standings retaining the yellow bib on 180 points, 64 points clear of Swiss rider Jan Scherrer in second place. After his best ever World Cup halfpipe result, 17-year-old Guseli moves up to fourth on the rankings.

In the women’s halfpipe event, two-time NSWIS Olympian Emily Arthur also had an equal personal best World Cup finish of sixth place.

“The halfpipe was amazing as always, but unfortunately with the weather we weren’t able to compete in the end, which was a bit of a shame,” said James after the awards ceremony.

“It’s always amazing to ride here in Laax in front of this crowd. For me on the podium it’s a little bit bittersweet, because I would have loved to have rode tonight but I’m also happy to be able to come away with second place.”

“We had a discussion between the riders about what we wanted to do,” James continued, “And we mutually decided to give it one more try, which we did, but unfortunately the weather came back in again and they had to cancel it.”

James and Guseli will next be in action in the halfpipe at the X-Games in Aspen, USA, on January 27.