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)

Aussies Tess Coady and Mela Stalker have soared to top 10 finishes in the Women’s Big Air final, placing seventh and tenth respectively in a world-class field.

Coady’s seventh place marks the best result ever recorded by an Australian in Olympic Big Air, improving on her ninth place from Beijing 2022.

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

Entering the 12 rider final ranked 12th, the three-time Olympian said she felt free to simply enjoy the moment.

“I didn't really have any expectations because I guess I was already in 12th, so it's kind of like anything you can do is a bonus from there,” the 25-year-old said.

“Going into the runs, I just wanted to land some stuff, feel good, and make it look good.”

Leading off the competition, Coady opened with a 70.00 for a backside double 1080 with melon grab. She followed with 61.00 for a switch backside 900 with mute grab, sitting in fifth place heading into the final jump, but was unable to improve her scores, finishing with a total score of 131.00.

Olympic debutant Stalker came out firing in the final, scoring 72.50 for her backside double 1080 with mute grab. She was unable to replicate the execution on her next two runs, scoring 35.00 for a frontside 1080 to finish with 107.50.

While disappointed not to put down three clean runs, Stalker said the night left her more inspired than ever.

“To ride with the best of the best was pretty awesome. Unfortunately, I couldn't put it down but I’m pretty stoked, it's been an awesome experience, that's for sure,” the 22-year-old said.

“It’s definitely the most intense competition I’ve been in… the most high-end competition I’ve been a part of. To be here and watch the girls send it and give it their all has been insane. 

“I didn't think I'd get this far tonight, so I'm pretty happy to be a part of it and really embrace watching everybody and seeing where I can get to.”

The women’s field pushed the sport to new heights, led by Japan’s Murase Kokomo, who delivered two 1440s for the top scores of the night. She opened with a backside triple cork 1440 mute grab – the highest scoring jump of the competition at 89.75 – and closed with a frontside 1440 scoring 89.25 to secure gold with 179.00 points.

New Zealand’s Zoi Sadowski Synnott claimed silver with 172.25, while the Republic of Korea’s Yu Seungeun, just 18, took bronze with 171.00. Dual Olympic Champion Anna Gasser was denied a shot at history after falls on her first two attempts ended her bid for a third Big Air title.

Recognising the significance of Kokomo’s double 1440s, the rest of the field were quick to celebrate the emotional Olympic Champion.

“[Kokomo] started bawling her eyes out and I was tearing up. It was pretty emotional to be with all the girls at the bottom and to see her throw down - and Zoi and Yu too.”

Coady echoed that sentiment, praising the level of riding on display.

“Those girls are amazing, they’re so good at riding big air, doing 14s and stuff would be pretty scary on that jump.

“Everyone is so inspiring to watch, and we also spend so much time together, we’re all friends, and it’s super sick.

“Kokomo’s been working so hard the last few years, I think she really deserved that win.”

Both Aussies will now turn their attention to Slopestyle in week two of the Games. 

Coady – the Slopestyle bronze medallist from Beijing 2022 - said the Big Air tricks on display could have an exciting impact on the next event.

“Yeah, that'll definitely be super interesting to see what people go for in the Slopestyle,” she said. 

“Obviously you have to connect the whole run up. Big Air is the one jump, but in Slopestyle you have to have something good on every trick, so it will be really interesting to see what kind of runs people are putting together and I’m looking forward to that for sure.”

In her main event, Coady will again be joined by Stalker and 16-year-old Ally Hickman who placed 15th in Big Air qualifiers.

“It’s so nice to start with Big Air and be able to work on the tricks that I’m going to take to slope,” Stalker said.

“We’ve had a bit of a warm-up now which is cool!”

Coady, Stalker and Hickman will return for Women’s Slopestyle on Monday 16 February.

IMAGE TOP - Tess Coady
​IMAGE BOTTOM - Tess Coady and Mela Stalker

​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.

This week at the World Championships in St Moritz-Engadin, Switzerland, the snowboard and freeski athletes took on their second event, the big air competition, following last week’s slopestyle opener. NSWIS skier Daisy Thomas and snowboarder Tess Coady delivered the top performance among the Australian contingent, finishing in 22nd and 23rd places respectively.
 
In the snowboard big air, Japan dominated taking five of the six places on the podium. Australian results included Coady 23rd, Mela Stalker 24th and Jesse Parkinson 51st. Kokomo Murase and Ryoma Kimata of Japan were victorious.
 
In the freeski big air, Thomas was 22nd, Abi Harrigan 24th and Joey Elliss 49th. The freeski wins went to Italian Flora Tabanelli and Luca Harrington of New Zealand.

IMAGE - Daisy Thomas in action
PIC Chris Hocking

NSWIS snowboarder Tess Coady has finished 12th in the slopestyle final at the 2025 FIS Snowboard and Freestyle World Championships in St Mortiz, Switzerland.
 
In qualifying, Coady scored 66.39 in the opening run, placing her in seventh place and safely through to the final.
 
NSWIS teammate Mela Stalker just missed the 12-woman final in 13th place, with a best score of 56.13 in the first run of qualifying.
 
In the final, Coady was unfortunately unable to put a clean run down in her two runs, finishing in 12th place.
 
2022 Olympic slopestyle champion Zoi Sadowski-Synnott of New Zealand finished in first place with a score of 88.54 in the final run, giving her a third slopestyle World Championship gold medal.
 
In the men’s event Jesse Parkinson was 27th in his heat and placing him 50th overall. Victory went to dual Olympic medallist Yiming Su of China. 
 
Coady, Stalker, and Parkinson are now preparing for the big air event at the World Championships. The men's qualifying round is on March 25, followed by the women's on March 26, and the final on March 28.

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.

The second straight big air event of the year has taken place in Austria, with skiers and snowboarders this time competing at Kreischberg, the Aussie highlight was teenage freeskier Daisy Thomas recording her best result of the season with an eight place finals finish.
 
Thomas placed fifth in qualifying to advance to her second career World Cup final. In the final, Thomas had a great first jump, with her left spinning double 1080 with grab scoring 82.75 points from the judges. Unfortunately the NSWIS skier wasn’t able to put down her second and third jumps, ending with a final two-jump score of 101.25.
 
It feels great to make finals” said the 17-year-old Youth Olympic big air silver medallist from Sydney.
 
“I’m just trying to be patient, gain some more competition experience and then let some results come in time.
 
“It was amazing, great crowd under the lights and everyone was happy and excited for each other.
 
“I was really happy with my skiing in qualifications and my first run in finals. Bit frustrated about the right double 1080, but after some more reps and practice I should be sweet.
 
“Next up is the Laax Open which I am super stoked for! It’s my first one and the course looks amazing.”
 
Also in action for Australia in the freeski event was Olympian Abi Harrigan in 19th and Joey Ellis in 28th.

Snowboard Big Air – PBs for Robertson-Hahn and Parkinson
 
In the snowboard big air, Joshua Robertson-Hahn and Jesse Parkinson both had personal best big air World Cup results, finishing in 15th and 20th places respectively.
 
Paige Jones made her World Cup debut in the women’s event, finishing in 21st place, and Meila Stalker was 27th.
 
Next weekend the prestigious Laax Open takes place in Switzerland, skiers and snowboarders are scheduled to compete in slopestyle and halfpipe from January 14-18.

NSWIS freeskier Daisy Thomas has just missed out on qualifying for finals at the first FIS World Cup Big Air event of the new year in a stadium event in Klagenfurt, Austria, finishing 11th.
 
Competing in Woerthersee Stadium in Klagenfurt, the 17-year-old Youth Olympic Games medallist performed two double backflip 1080’s spinning in both directions, her first jump scoring 68.60 points, and second jump 54.40.

Her two jump total came to 123 points and a ranking of 11th, just missing out on the eight-woman final by 14.8 points.
 
Also in action for Australia was Abi Harrigan in 14th, and Joey Ellis who was 42nd in the men’s event.
 
Thomas reflected on her performance after the event.
 
“It’s a very different and new setup for me in Austria.
 
“First time hitting a city big air and first time training and competing at nighttime. The jump was definitely a bit sketchy compared to what I’m used to but I’m happy that I was able to put down both ways double 10s in a contest.
 
“Despite not skiing my best, I am feeling really confident leading into the next Big Air competition in Kreischberg. I’m hoping to clean up my tricks and really show everyone my potential in the next few competitions.

Stalker 15th in Snowboard Big Air

NSWIS snowboarders also competed in Klagenfurt, with Meila Stalker and Jesse Parkinson in action.
 
Stalker finished 15th in the women’s event which was won by Mia Brookes of Great Britain, and Parkinson placed 31st in the men’s event won by Taiga Hasegawa of Japan.
 
The next event will also take place in Austria, moving to Kreischberg for freeski big air on January 10 and snowboard big air January 11.

The Snowboard and Freeski Park & Pipe tour has headed to China for two weeks of World Cup competition, with a big air first up over the weekend in Beijing and then a halfpipe event in Secret Garden next weekend.

In the snowboard big air, Meila Stalker recorded her best ever result in the discipline with a tenth-place finish, narrowly missing out on the top-eight women’s final.

Joshua Robertson-Hahn also had his best ever World Cup finish, placing 17th, with Jesse Parkinson also achieving his highest ever finish in big air, placing 25th.

In the men’s freeski big air, Joey Ellis made his World Cup debut finishing in 40th place.

Next weekend VIS snowboard superstar Scotty James will make his season debut competing back in the 2022 Olympic Halfpipe at the Secret Garden resort, where he claimed the silver medal at the Olympics, and has won two World Cup events from two starts.

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.

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.

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 Meila 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 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 Meila 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.

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.

Japananese athletes swept the podium, with Taiga Hasegawa in first with 186 points, Ryoma Kimata in second with 182.50 and Kira Kimura scoring 181.75 to place third.
 
Guseli finished first on the seasons standings with 214 points, 18 ahead of Corning on 196 with Marcus Kleveland of Norway in third with 140.
 
The NSWIS teenager’s highlight result of the season was his first career gold medal in Edmonton, Canada, during December.
 
“Firstly, wow. So hyped,” Guseli said, holding his new trophy.
 
“I knew coming here it was a possibility to get the globe and I wanted to make it so bad, because it was a good opportunity to get this beautiful thing that is definitely going in my pool room.
 
“But I knew I had to beat Chris (Corning) who, out of anyone in the field, is probably the person you least want to have to beat, because he’s just so good and consistent. I think he’s won seven (crystal globes). So, I’m super happy. It was a battle and I landed my stuff. Couldn’t really ask for much more.”
 
In her first event of the season. Olympic bronze medallist Tess Coady was unlucky not to advance to finals of the women’s big air, just missing out by one place in ninth.
 
Also competing for Australia in Kreischberg was rookie NSWIS rider Meila Stalker who finished in 13th place in her World Cup debut and Jesse Parkinson in 31st.
 
The park and pipe athletes will be in action next weekend competing at the Laax Open in Switzerland, with a slopestyle and halfpipe event scheduled for January 21.
 
Scotty James will also compete in his first halfpipe event of 2023 wearing the yellow leader’s bib after winning the opening World Cup event in Copper Mountain, USA, in mid-December.

Teen snowboard sensation Valentino Guseli has finished in 16th place at the slopestyle World Cup in Spindleruv Mlyn, Czech Republic.

The 2022 Olympic Halfpipe finalist was drawn in heat one for slopestyle qualifying in Splindleruv Mlyn, and put down an impressive first run to score 85.33 points to advance to the final in third place.

Unfortunately in the final Guseli was unable to complete his two runs, and finished in 16th place overall.

Also in action for Australia was Jesse Parkinson in 26th.

The final World Cup slopestyle event of the season will take place in Silvaplana, Switzerland, next weekend on March 25-27.

Joining Guseli on the entry list for Silvaplana will be Tess Coady and Matt Cox, who will both return to competition for the first time since the Beijing Olympics, with Meila Stalker to make her World Cup debut, and Parkinson first reserve in the men's event.