15-year-old Indra Brown has continued her remarkable World Cup debut, securing back-to-back medals with a silver medal in the freeski halfpipe at Copper Mountain, USA. The result improves on her bronze medal from last week’s debut in China and confirms her status as the youngest Aussie to land on a winter sports world Cup podium.
 
In a best-of-two-run final under tricky flat light at the Colorado resort, Brown opened strongly with a score of 80 points, placing her in second position. She looked set to improve in her final run but crashed while attempting a new trick on the last jump, holding on to the silver medal.
 
Her podium run included a leftside 900, rightside 900, leftside 720, switch rightside 540, switch leftside 720 and finished with an alley-oop, with grabs in all but one jump.
 
The gold medal went to Great Britain’s Zoe Atkin with 89.25 points, while China’s Kexin Chang claimed bronze on 77.50 points.
 
“Fortunately, I was able to stay calm and positive, trust my training and remind myself to have fun out there,” said the Melbourne high school student.
 
“The halfpipe shape was definitely different to China, so it took me a while to adapt, but really stoked I was able to put it together today.
 
“That slam definitely gave me a fright today, thankfully I'm all ok and the bodies in good shape.
 
“I have a few more days here in Copper, before a few days off for Christmas, where we're driving up to Revelstoke to ski some powder with family and some great friends. Then we are off to Calgary and then Aspen for the next World Cups.
 
“No plans have changed in my preparation, but there are loads of things I want to work on, so hopefully I can keep progressing.”
 
Brown now sits second in the World Cup standings with 140 points, trailing Atkin (180) and ahead of Chang (105).
 
Her next event will be the Calgary World Cup on January 3, as she looks to continue her incredible start to the season.

Australian snowboard star Valentino Guseli has made an impressive return to halfpipe competition, securing a bronze medal at Copper Mountain, USA, in his first event since sustaining a knee injury 12 months ago.
 
Guseli demonstrated strong form from the outset, placing second in qualification heat two with a score of 77.83 points, to advance to the final.
 
In the best-of-two-run final, Guseli delivered two impressive performances. His opening run scored 79.95, followed by an improved second run of 84.75, which secured the bronze medal and marked the tenth World Cup podium of his career.
 
Both runs featured a stylish backside alley-oop 360, cab double cork 1080, frontside 1260, backside double cork 1260 and frontside 1440, with all tricks completed with grabs.
 
The event was won by Ryusei of Japan with a top score of 94.50, while teammate Yuto Totsuka claimed silver with 90.50.

“It's really nice to be back up there, I definitely did what I wanted to do which was basically just put down some runs and stamp my authority back in the halfpipe,” said the 20-year-old from Dalmeny on the NSW South Coast.
 
“The biggest factor today was how sick I felt in the morning during training, I was happy I was able to get through that and then the main thing was just really focusing on my runs and putting them down and I was able to get that done.”
 
“This wasn’t the most technical run I've ever done, but I have a new addition to it, the backside alley-oop 360, which in my opinion is a pretty cool trick, it brings something fresh and exciting back into halfpipe.”
 
“It's my first halfpipe comp of the season, I'm going to have some time to train now and put some time into getting these bigger tricks, so by the time the Olympic Games come around I'm ready to take it.”
 
In the women’s snowboard halfpipe event, Australians Amelie Haskell finished 19th, Emily Arthur 27th, and Misaki Vaughan 28th.
 
Looking ahead, 15-year-old Indra Brown will compete tomorrow in the women’s freeski halfpipe event, fresh off becoming Australia’s youngest-ever World Cup medallist last week in China.
 
The next snowboard halfpipe World Cup will take place in the new year in Calgary, Canada, on January 2, followed by the freeski halfpipe on January 3.

NSWIS rising snowboard star Ally Hickman was the second Australian teenager in as many days to secure their first World Cup podium, finishing third in the season’s final big air event in Steamboat, USA, in only her eighth World Cup start.
 
At 16 years and one month, Hickman from Sydney, is now the second youngest Australian World Cup medallist, narrowly behind Indra Brown’s bronze one day earlier in the freeski halfpipe in China at 15 years and 10 months.
 
Hickman carried strong recent form into Steamboat, following a seventh-place finish two weeks ago in China. She qualified for the final in first place on Friday with a huge score of 93 points for a frontside 1080 with double mute and tailgrab.
 
In the three-run final, where the two best scores count, Hickman opened with the same jump from qualifying, scoring 88 points, and then had two attempts at a backside 720 melon grab, performing both jumps well earning 72.75 on her first attempt and improving to 74.25 on her final jump. Her two-jump combined score of 162.25 points secured the bronze medal behind winner Japan’s Miyabi Onitsuka, on 174 points, and South Korea’s Seungeun Yu in second with 173.25.
 
Also competing in the women’s final for Australia was NSWIS rider Meila Stalker in seventh place on 145 points in her second finals appearance of the season.
 
Hickman’s podium finish moves her to fourth overall in the final World Cup Big Air standings, Stalker is seventh and 2018 Olympic slopestyle bronze medallist Tess Coady sits in 12th. Coady did not compete in Steamboat, opting for training in Europe.
 
In the men’s event, Australians Jesse Parkinson (27th), Joshua Robertson-Hahn (33rd) and Valentino Guseli (46th) missed the finals.
 
Joey Elliss was the sole representative for Australia in the freeski big air in Steamboat, placing 44th.
 
The focus now shifts to the slopestyle discipline and the final World Cup and Olympic qualification events, kicking off the new year in Aspen with the next competition from January 7 to 10.

Teenage sensation Indra Brown has delivered a historic debut performance for Australian winter sports, claiming a bronze medal in the freeski halfpipe at Secret Garden, China. At just 15 years of age, Brown becomes the youngest Australian ever to secure a World Cup podium finish.
 
Competing at the 2022 Olympic Games venue e, Brown impressed from the outset, qualifying for her first World Cup final in fourth place with a score of 85 points.
 
In challenging winter conditions during the best-of-two-run final, the Melbourne high school student displayed composure beyond her years, producing two strong performances. Her opening run earned 82 points, securing third place and cementing her place in the history books.
 
Brown sets the record at 15 years and 10 months, eclipsing snowboarders Torah Bright and Valentino Guseli who both podiumed at age 16 years and 11 months.
 
Her podium run included a leftside 900, rightside 900, leftside 720, switch rightside 540, switch leftside 360 and finished with an alley-oop 360 with grabs in each jump.
 
The gold medal went to Chinese superstar  2022 Olympic champion Eileen Gu with a score of 91.75, while Great Britain’s Zoe Atkin claimed silver with 90.25 points.
 
“To podium in my first World Cup is an incredible feeling, especially to be able to share it with my idols” said Brown.
 
“I was able to keep my composure in the tough conditions today by staying calm and remind myself of what I need to do to land my run.
 
“It's a dream come true to share the podium with such incredible athletes and it's a moment I'll never forget
 
“The support from home has been amazing, I've loved staying connected with everyone and seeing all the messages from friends, family and supporters.
 
“My next event is the Copper Mountain World Cup in Colorado starting in a few days.”

The second Big Air World Cup in China took place over the weekend, this time as a city event in Beijing at the iconic 2022 Olympic venue. Once again, Olympic bronze medallist Tess Coady was the top-performing Australian.
 
Coady advanced to the women’s top-eight final, qualifying in seventh place with a score of 150.25. NSWIS teammates Meila Stalker (17th, 123.25) and Ally Hickman (24th, 77.50) missed the cut.
 
In the three-jump final, where the best two scores count, Coady’s highlight came in run two, landing a backside double cork 1080 method grab for 72.25 points. Her final attempt, a frontside 900 grab, was unsuccessful, scoring 21.50, giving her a two-jump total of 93.75 and an eighth-place finish.
 
In the men’s event, two-time World Overall Park & Pipe Champion Valentino Guseli narrowly missed the final, finishing seventh in his heat with a two-jump score of 138.50, just short of the top-five required. Guseli ranked 13th overall, while Joshua Robertson-Hahn placed 24th (106.50) and Jesse Parkinson finished 40th (77.50).
 
In the freeski Big Air competition, Abi Harrigan scored 97.50 for 18th place, and Joey Elliss finished 40th (110.50) in the men’s event.
 
Next weekend World Cup events are scheduled in China and the USA.
 
In China, the World Cup halfpipe event at Secret Garden will feature four-time World Champion Scotty James making his season debut, alongside snowboarders Emily Arthur, Amelie Haskell, Misaki Vaughan, and Indra Brown, who will make a World Cup debut in freeski halfpipe.
 
In the USA, the third World Cup Big Air of the season takes place in Steamboat, Colorado, with Harrigan and Elliss in freeski, and Stalker, Hickman, Guseli, Robertson-Hahn, and Parkinson in snowboard.