​Ally Hickman put in a brave performance in the Women’s Snowboard Slopestyle Final to round out her Olympic debut.

The 16-year-old Sydney schoolgirl laid down a seamless opening run to score 67.70 and sit in fourth position after the first of three runs.  

Article courtesy olympics.com.au ​

The wind picked up in her second run and Hickman fell on a top rail, injuring her sternum and was unable to complete the course. She was attended to by medical staff and bravely returned to the top for a third run.  

Hickman’s final run in the best-of-three format was super clean run from the top, but she could not land her front 10 given her speed into the last jump. She landed too high on the knuckle and didn’t have enough time to rotate, rolling down the landing.

Japan won gold and bronze with Mari Fukada in first (87.83), New Zealand’s Zoi Sadowski Synnott second (87.48) and Kokomo Murase third (85.80). 

Hickman was embraced by a group of teammates at the end of her remarkable Olympic debut. 

Hickman – a newcomer to the world stage – finished seventh in her first Olympic final. This follows her 15th place finish in Big Air earlier in the Games.   

The second youngest member of Australia’s 2026 Winter Olympic Team, Ally Hickman, has qualified for the Women’s Snowboard Slopestyle Final, finishing sixth in Sunday’s heats.

The 16-year-old delivered a clean and composed opening run at Livigno Snow Park, scoring 71.41. With windy conditions challenging riders throughout the session, particularly on the jumps, her first run score held firm across the second run and secured her place in the top12 final.

Article courtesy olympics.com.au

The teenager said her plan was to put down a safe, reliable opening run.

“I’m so happy, it was such an amazing event,” Hickman said.

“First run, I was just trying to keep it safe, just laying a score on the board and it’s gotten me to finals which is so good.”

While the slopestyle course was daunting at first, Hickman said it quickly began to feel more natural under her board.

“First look, it was very daunting, but hitting the course, it flowed really well,” she said.

“The jumps today were a bit windy and we couldn’t really clear them as well. But they ended up working pretty nicely.”

Having played is ‘safe’ in qualifying, Hickman said she plans to up the ante for finals.

“I want to land my best run, the run that I’ve been dreaming about to land in the Olympics for a while now. It should be such a good final.”

Fellow Australians Mela Stalker and Tess Coady finished 22nd and 27th respectively, with scores of 47.36 and 38.95.

Stalker said she has been struggling on the course this week, so made the decision the night before the competition to change up her run. A change that brought her a lot of enjoyment in competition today.

“Today was an awesome day, I actually enjoyed riding the course today, which has been a struggle all week, so I was pretty happy about that,” the 22-year-old said.

“I changed up my run last night, so it was a bit interesting getting into it today.

“I love playing around with the rails and making it fun, and I really struggled with that this week, and it was really getting to me.

“Trying to find a run that I’d be proud of and actually enjoy was the hardest part because these rails are either massive or really chill.

“Unfortunately, it didn’t get me on the right path today, but that’s okay, I enjoyed riding it…. That’s what it’s about, it’s about actually enjoying what we’re doing.”

Ally Hickman will return for the Women’s Snowboard Slopestyle Finals on Tuesday 17 February (11pm AEDT)

​Three Aussies lined up for the Women’s Snowboard Big Air qualification in Livigno Snow Park. Triple Olympian and bronze medalist Tess Coady, and Olympic debutants Ally Hickman and Mela Stalker.  

Coady, Hickman and Stalker are from Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland so the crowd was packed with friends and family from across the east coast of Australia excited to see the Aussies go big.  

Article courtesy olympics.com.au / Images Copyright Chris Hocking

Big Air has been filled with dramas these Games from the highs and lows of watching Val Guseli pullout a 19 hundred to squeak and tonight was no different.  

Tess Coady had the tough job of being number one on the start list, but she handled it like a pro. She delivered a solid first jump score of 78.50, Hickman sixteenth to run spun up a front side 1080 mute grab and deliver an 85.25 finishing the first round in third. Stalker unfortunately failed to stick the landing putting the pressure on for the next two rounds.  

“Sitting third after that one, I was really excited. I went over to my family. They were probably the loudest in the crowd, yeah, it was so crazy,” said Hickman.

Going into the second-round jump Stalker knew she really needed a result to stay in the competition. She responded with authority nailing a backside 1080 mute and delivering an 82.25. Coady, however, had a difficult landing, while Hickman landed a solid second jump.  

In the third, Stalker did it again. She absolutely nailed a frontside 1080 mute to land in 6th place. Coady, just edged into the final finishing in 12th spot with a solid switch backside 900 mute, Hickman landed all three jumps but failed to produce a high enough score for the final finishing in 15th place.  

Stalker being a rookie put her first-round jump down to nerves, “So much anxiety throughout the whole day. So, I think I'm pretty glad to just, kind of breathe through it.” 

She also pulled out a new trick for the night, “Yeah, it was the first time doing back dub 10 in a competition. So I learned that on the on the day I came here. So, to be able to put it in in comp mode is pretty cool”. 

She felt the support of the team really help her to get the job done on the night.  

“It's like a little family. It's so cool. Good to have Tess make the final as well. She rode so well, and so did Ally. I can't, I can't believe how proud I am of them and to be able to ride with them this this year has been great.” 

Coady was really focused on the second run to get into the final on the night.  

“I wanted to just do a switchback nine I did on my second run. But it was just like, it slowed down a little bit as it got a bit colder. So yeah, I just wanted to land that, cleaner and just make it look good. And, yeah, get some points, just hope, hopefully that was gonna be enough. 

Placing 12th means Coady will be first again in the final, “In the final, I think I’ll do a  switchback 10, I might just see, how the jump is and stuff but It's a little tricky when you're, like, the first rider to drop.” 

PHOTO - MELA STALKER IN ACTION

NSWIS teenager Ally Hickman has achieved a career‑best World Cup result in the slopestyle event in Laax, Switzerland, placing ninth in her first-ever World Cup slopestyle final. The performance improves on her tenth-place finish at the same venue last year, when only eight women progressed to the final. This season the field was expanded to ten.
 
The 16‑year‑old qualified for the final in tenth position with a score of 55.46 on her second run. In the final, Hickman was unable to land a clean run, scoring 22.58 on her first attempt and 35.25 on her second, finishing ninth overall. Japan’s Kokomo Murase secured the win with a top score of 77.55.
 
Fellow Australian Meila Stalker also competed in the women’s event, finishing 16th in qualifying.
 
In the men's competition, NSWIS snowboarder and two‑time World Cup Overall Park & Pipe Champion Valentino Guseli delivered his best slopestyle performance of the season, qualifying for the semifinal after an impressive third‑place finish in his heat with runs scoring 79.95 and 83.75.
 
In the 24‑man semifinal, Guseli was unable to match his qualifying form, posting a best score of 44.21 in his second run, placing him 17th and outside the top‑12 required for the final. French rider Romain Allemand won with a best score of 86.70.
 
Other Australian men in action included Joshua Robertson‑Hahn (49th) and Jesse Parkinson (58th).
 
Freeski Slopestyle
In the freeski event in Laax, NSWIS skier Daisy Thomas made her return from injury, finishing in 26th place.
 
Also in action for Australia was Joey Elliss, 55th in the men’s event.

NSWIS snowboarders Meila Stalker and Tess Coady both secured top-six finishes in the World Cup slopestyle event in Aspen, USA, with Stalker achieving a personal-best result fifth place and Coady close behind in sixth.
 
In qualifying for the eight-athlete final, Coady was fourth on 69.98 points and Stalker sixth with 69 points. Ally Hickman missed finals, finishing 26th.
 
Finals were held under sunny skies, where Stalker posted her best score in run one with 51.36 points to claim fifth, while Coady’s top score of 47.85 points, also in run one placed her in sixth.
 
In the men’s competition, Joshua Robertson-Hahn placed 26th, while Valentino Guseli wrapped up a busy week in Aspen by competing in both the halfpipe and slopestyle events, finishing 35th overall. Jesse Parkinson came in 42nd.
 
In the freeski slopestyle event, Joey Elliss was the only Australian in action, finishing in 48th place.
 
The World Cup tour now heads to Laax, Switzerland, for the final Olympic qualification events, with freeski slopestyle event on January 17 and snowboard on January 18.

IMAGE
Meila Stalker launching above the park in Aspen
© FIS/Andrew Wevers

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.

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.

The opening Big Air World Cup for freeski and snowboard athletes took place over the weekend at the 2022 Olympic resort of Secret Garden, China, with four NSWIS athletes reaching the top-8 final.
 
In the earlier qualification rounds, first up was the freeski event, which saw Daisy Thomas qualify for the final in an impressive second place. Also in action for Australia was Abi Harrigan in 21st and Joey Elliss 48th in the men’s event.
 
In the snowboard event qualification all three female Australian athletes qualified through to the final for the first time, with Melia Stalker in fifth, Ally Hickman sixth and Tess Coady eighth.
 
In the men’s event and missing out on finals were Joshua Robertson-Hahn in 20th, Valentino Gusei 30th in his return to competition from an injury last December, and Jesse Parkinson 41st.
 
The women’s freeski final saw Thomas in second place after the first run scoring a huge 88 points for her left side double cork 1080 with grab. In the second jump, Thomas jumped a right side double cork 12 with grab but unfortunately had trouble at the end of the landing injuring her knee, and was unable to complete the third and final jump.
 
Thomas was still able to record a personal best World Cup finish of sixth, with the 18-year-old improving on her personal best of seventh from December 2023.
 
The snowboard final featured three Australian women and four Japanese riders, with Coady the highest place finisher, just missing the podium in fourth on a two jump best score of 134.50 points, Stalker was fifth on 114.50 and Hickman seventh with 79.25. Stalker and 16 year old Hickman, both recorded personal best World Cup finishes.
 
Japanese riders swept the women’s podium with first going to Mari Fukada (156.75), second to Reira Iwabuchi (145.75) and third, was  Miyabi Onitsuka (141.50).
 
Next up, the skiers and snowboards will remain in China for a big air in downtown Beijing on December 6.

Tess Coady has made a great return to competition, narrowly missing the podium in fourth place in her first World Cup of the season, a slopestyle event in Calgary, Canada.
 
The NSWIS 2022 Olympic medallist has been out of action since late last year and only resumed riding during January.
 
Coady started strongly in qualifying, advancing to the 12-woman final in third place with a best score of 70.26 in run one, the second highest score of the round.
 
In the best of two-run final, Coady opened with a score of 68.80
 
Coady was unable to improve on her score in the final run, losing speed on the landing of her backside 900 halfway through her run and not hit the remaining features.
 
Pulling into first place on the final run of the day was Mari Fukada of Japan on 77.58, Anika Morgan of Germany was second with 76.30 and Mia Brookes Great Britain, third on 74.08.
 
15-year-old NSWIS rider Ally Hickman was 24th in women’s qualifying and Jesse Parkinson was 26th in the men’s event, his highest slopestyle finish this season.
 
Coady commented on her social media after the event.
 
“Fourth place here in Calgary. Not my best riding ever but felt really good to get back in a bib after a year, dust off the cobwebs and land a run.
 
“Thanks to everyone who has supported me to get back to this point, it’s been a long journey!

“Excited to hang around Canada a bit longer before the next event!”
 
The final World Cup before the 2025 World Championships will be held in Absolut Park, Austria, on March 13-14.
 
Haskell 19th in Calgary Halfpipe
 
The final World Cup halfpipe event of the season took place in Calgary ahead of the World Championships, with Amelie Haskel, Misaki Vaughan, Emily Arthur and Sascha Elvy competing for Australia.
 
17-year-old Haskell was the best performed in 19th, followed by Vaughan in 20th, Arthur 23rd and Elvy 24th.
 
The World Championships halfpipe events will take place in St Moritz, Switzerland, from March 27-29.

The final event of the Aspen Park and Pipe World Cup have been completed, with Aussie skiers and snowboarders competing in the big air discipline.
 
17-year-old NSWIS skier Daisy Thomas was the best placed in 11th, just missing out on the eight-woman final after scoring 79.95 on her left double cork 1080 in the first run, falling just short of advancing by just 1.8 points..
 
In snowboard big air, Paige Jones, Ally Hickman and Jesse Parkinson all finished in the top-30, Jones 21st and Hickman 22nd in the women’s event and Parkinson placed 29th in the men’s.
 
Next weekend in Calgary, Canada, World Cup events will take place in halfpipe and slopestyle, where Olympic medallist Tess Coady is expected to return to competition for the first time this season after recovering from injury.

Daisy Thomas flying high in Aspen
© Chris Hocking

Two-time Olympic medallist and seven-time X-Games champion Scotty James has placed fifth in the World Cup event in Aspen, USA, as competitors found the flat light challenging in the halfpipe.
 
Competing in the Aspen halfpipe where the VIS snowboarder claimed a record fourth straight X-Games gold the week before, James delivered an impressive performance dominating heat number two by achieving the highest score among all competitors with an outstanding 92 points.
 
In the best of three run final, James came close to putting down a medal winning performance in his second and third runs, but a few small mistakes resulted in an 85.75 in run two and 85 in run three, giving him a final ranking of fifth.
 
Japan swept the first four positions in the men’s event, with Ruka Hirano first on 93.25, Ayumu Hirano second 89.50, Ryusei Yamada third 88.25 and Yuto Totsuka fourth 87.5.

After four World Cup events, James is ranked fourth on 275 points, trailing Japanese riders Ayumu Hirano on 290, Ruka Hirano 285, and Totsuka 280.
 
In the women’s event Amelie Haskell was 13th, Misaki Vaughan 26th and two-time Olympic champion Chloe Kim of the USA took the win.
 
Freeski & Snowboard Slopestyle
 
Australia’s best performed in the slopestyle was NSWIS freeskier Daisy Thomas who finished in 16th place and in the snowboard slopestyle Paige Jones was 25th, Allie Hickman 28th and Jesse Parkinson 32nd.  
 
World Cup big air events will take place in Aspen this week, freeski qualifying on February 4, snowboard on February 5 and the final for both disciplines on February 6.

Teenager Ally Hickman has finished tenth in an impressive World Cup debut at the Slopestyle World Cup event in Laax, Switzerland.
 
In the best of two run qualifying round, the 15-year-old NSWIS rider scored 44.66 on her first run, and then stepped it up in the second run to score 64.99, placing her tenth, narrowly missing out on advancing to the eight woman final.
 
Fellow NSWIS athletes Meila Stalker finished in 14th place with a best score of 58.78 in run two and Jesse Parkinson was 59th in the men’s event.
 
First place in the women’s event went to Mia Brookes of Great Britain and the men’s event went to Cameron Spalding of Canada.
 
Freeski Slopestyle
In the freeski slopestyle event in Laax, Abi Harrigan, Daisy Thomas and Kai Martin were all in action for Australia.
 
The highest placed finisher was NSWIS 2022 Olympian Abi Harrigan in 20th, Daisy Thomas was 25th and returning from injury in his first World Cup of the season was Kai Martin who finished 33rd.
 
Eileen Gu of China won the women’s event and Birk Ruud of Norway was victorious in the men’s.