Scotty James will head to the Beijing Olympic Winter Games full of confidence, after winning gold in the Halfpipe at the X-Games in Aspen, USA.
 
The 27-year-old snowboarder from Warrandyte, Melbourne, recorded his fourth X-Games victory with a number of impressive runs in the Aspen halfpipe, to finish ahead of Japanese riders Ayumu Hirano in second place, with his younger brother Kaishu Hirano in third.
 
Making his X Games debut, 16-year-old teen sensation Valentino Guseli from Dalmeny in NSW, finished in sixth place, with his highest score coming in the first run.
 
“It’s hard to put words on this honestly, after last week in Laax which was upsetting, and I just wanted to bounce back, I love Aspen, and I love this pipe” said James after completing his victory lap after being guaranteed the gold medal ahead of his final run.
 
“Ayumu is an amazing opponent and the rest of the field and I knew I had to bring my best, so I am absolutely thrilled.”
 
James is Australia’s most successful male snowboarder to date. The Olympic bronze medallist in 2018 has a collection of X Games medals (4 gold, 2 silver, 1 bronze), eleven FIS World Cup medals (6 gold, 4 silver, 1 bronze) and four World Championship medals, including three gold.
 
Earlier in Aspen Tess Coady finished in sixth place in the snowboard slopestyle event.
 
The X-Games is the final event for James, Guseli and Coady before the Olympic Winter Games in Beijing, China.

Tess Coady has recorded the second World Cup victory of her career, with an impressive gold medal performance in the slopestyle event at the Laax Open in Switzerland, with Matt Cox and teen halfpipe sensation Valentino Guseli recording personal best finishes to make it a great day for Australian snowboarding.
 
In a dominating performance, Coady won the qualification round, and had the two highest scoring runs in the final, sealing the deal with a spectacular frontside double 1080 on the last jump.
 
In the best of two run format, Coady scored 79.60 on her first run, and with victory already assured before her final run, she stepped it up to score 86.18 to finish ahead of Anna Gasser of Austria on 78.56 and Annika Morgan of Germany with 76.61.
 
“It feels so good to take the win today” said the 21-year-old from Melbourne.
 
“Really just wanted to land my runs, I think that’s all you can ask for, so to achieve that today was just a win in itself for me.”
 
“This event is always so sick, it’s ran so well and the park is always built well. It makes a massive difference for the riders and how much you enjoy the event.”
 
“The frontside 1080 is a new one for me. I learnt it a few months ago at Prime parks in Stubai. I really wanted to bring it out today so super stoked I was able to do that.”
 
In the men’s event, Matt Cox’s best score came in run number two, with a 65.78 giving him the best World Cup slopestyle finish of his career in seventh place.
 
In the men’s halfpipe final, 16-year-old Valentino Guseli put down two great runs scoring 80.50 on his first run, and 80 on his second run to finish in a personal best fifth. 
 
Competing in his first event of the season, Scotty James unfortunately was unable to put two clean runs down in the final to finish in 11th place after leading the star studded field with the highest score in the qualification event.

Emily Arthur finished in 16th in the women's halfpipe event.
 
Coady, James and Guseli will now head to Aspen, USA, for the X-Games which will take place in the Colorado resort next weekend.

Aussie snowboard teenage sensation Valentino Guseli has had a confidence boosting sixth place performance at the Dew Tour event in Copper Mountain, USA.
 
Guseli qualified for finals in ninth place, joining the best in the sport in the 10-man final featuring Shaun White and the dominant Japanese riders.
 
In an incredible final which featured the first ever triple cork in halfpipe competition by Japanese rider Ayumu Hirano, Guseli put his best run down in the first round, scoring 83 points. He was unable to improve his score in the final two rounds, placing him in sixth, one spot ahead of double Olympic gold medallist Shaun White.
 
Guseli also had the biggest air and amplitude in the event, going the highest on the Space Force height metre.
 
“Had a very fun day riding” said the 16-year-old from Dalmeny in NSW.
 
“Felt so good to put some runs down. The energy and hype from the crowd was definitely something else, so cool to feed off that and try and put on a show for the people. Thanks to everyone who watched!”
 
Taking the win was Yuto Totsuka from Japan with 95.50 points, second went to American Taylor Gold with a score of 92, and third place was another Japanese rider, Ruka Hirano with 89 points.

Tess Coady has finished the season with a bronze medal overnight at the World Cup snowboard slopestyle event in Silvaplana, Switzerland, giving her a seasons best end of season ranking of third in the world.
 
In the best of two run final, the 20-year-old from Melbourne put down two impressive runs, scoring 84 points on her first run and stepped it up on her final run to record a score of 86.25 points to secure the bronze medal in great conditions at the Swiss resort.
 
Coady’s run included in the top section of the course a switch backside blunt 270 out, cab 360 weddle, front 180 on 360 out on the rails and then a switch backside 900 melon, front 720 melon to tail, back 720 weddle, frontside crippler on the bottom section jumps.
 
Japan took the first two spots on the podium above Coady with Reira Iwabuchi taking the win with 91 points and Kokomo Murase in second place on 88.75 points.
 
The medal is Coady’s third of the season and the fifth major medal of her career (1 gold, 1 silver, 3 bronze).
 
“It feels incredible to finish this season on a high” said the World Championship bronze medallist.
 
“It's really been foot on the gas the past couple of weeks, so I'm stoked I was able to find another gear and push myself to the end.
 
“The conditions and the course were perfect. This has been my favourite contest set up this season.
 
“I'm super stoked with this season, I would have been psyched to land one podium let alone three. It's been amazing and I'm so lucky to be out here.”
 
Coady finished the season ranked third on the World Cup standings with 165 points, only one point behind Kokomo Murase on 166 points in second place. Anna Gasser of Austria won the Crystal Globe with the number one world ranking on 195 points.

In the men's event, 15-year-old NSWIS snowboarding prodigy Valentino Guseli competed in the second World Cup slopestyle event of his career, placing 12th in his heat, just short of the top-eight required to advance to the final. Guseli finished with a final ranking of 30th place.

Both riders missed out on the top-six required to advanced to the final with Cox ranked 13th after scoring 67 points in his first qualification run and Guseli 18th in his World Cup slopestyle debut with 52 points in his second run. The final ranking were 27th for Cox and 35th for Guseli.

NSWIS snowboarder Emily Arthur has finished the season with a 12th place finish at the World Cup final in Aspen, Colorado.
 
Arthur had her best run in the first round of qualifying scoring 60 points, which put her in 12th position, just missing the eight woman final by four places
 
Taking the win was Olympic Champion Chloe Kim of the USA, with Queralt Castellet of Spain in second, with Japanese rider Sena Tomita rounding out the podium in third.
 
Competing in his second World Cup start, 15-year-old  NSWIS snowboarding prodigy Guseli finished in 29th place.
 
2021 World Champion Yuto Totsuka of Japan took the win in the men’s event with his fellow countryman Raibu Katayama in second with German Andre Hoeflich in third.
 
Three time Olympic Champion Shaun White of the USA made his return to competition for the first time since winning gold at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games, just missing the podium in fourth place.
 
After taking home the silver medal last week at the World Championships in Aspen, VIS snowboarder Scotty James elected not to compete in the World Cup in Aspen. James will remain overseas to train during the next few months.

IMAGE: Emily Arthur launching out of the Aspen halfpipe © Chris Hocking

NSWIS snowboarder Tess Coady has finished in fifth at the slopestyle World Cup event in Aspen, USA, ending a successful competition block highlighted by a bronze medal at the World Championships earlier in the week.

After qualifying for finals in eighth place, the 20-year-old from Melbourne had her best score in the first run scoring 60.15 points. Coady was unable to improve her score in the final two runs, finishing in fifth place.

Recording victory was Anna Gasser of Austria, with American Hailey Langland in second place and Enni Rukajarvi in third.

NSWIS riders Matt Cox and Valentino Guseli who, were both drawn to compete in heat number two for the men’s qualification round.

Both riders missed out on the top-six required to advanced to the final with Cox ranked 13th after scoring 67 points in his first qualification run and Guseli 18th in his World Cup slopestyle debut with 52 points in his second run. The final ranking were 27th for Cox and 35th for Guseli.

Marcus Kleveland of Norway took the win in the men's event, with Red Gerard of the USA in second position and third place going to Canadian Mark McMorris.

The slopestyle athletes will now head to Silvaplana, Switzerland, for the World Cup final on March 28.

Going into the final, Coady is ranked fourth on the World Cup standings with 105 points, 40 points behind Anna Gasser in first place, 35 points behind second ranked Jamie Anderson of the USA and 7 points behind Hailey Langland in third. IMAGE: A smiling Tess Coady after a successful week in Aspen © Chris Hocking

Scotty James has just fallen short of recording a historic fourth straight halfpipe World Championship gold medal, claiming the silver medal today in Aspen, USA.
 
The 26-year-old from Warrandyte in Victoria put down an impressive opening run scoring 90.50 points to lead all competitors after the first round of finals.
 
Going past James in the second run was Yuto Totsuka from Japan who moved into first place with a score of 93 points. Totsuka increased his score on his third and final run with a huge 96.25 points to take the gold medal.
 
Rounding out the podium in the bronze medal position was Jan Scherrer of Switzerland who scored 87 points in is final run.
 
“Happy to come out here representing Australia doing the best I can, and that is really what I did today and that was a second place,” said the 2018 Olympic bronze medallist.
 
“Today I learnt a lot of lessons and things I will be able to move forward and put into play when I go into my offseason. I have tricks I want to achieve, and I will be back to where I want to be.”
 
“Huge thankyou to everyone back home that has been supporting me to this day. I wish I could have brought back a gold medal but give me a little bit of time and I will do no doubt do it again.”
 
In his World Championship debut, 15-year-old Australian snowboarding prodigy Valentino Guseli was unlucky not to make the 10-man final, missing out by just one place in eleventh position. In the women’s event Emily Arthur finished in tenth place, matching her best performance of the season.
 
The athletes will remain in Aspen for another week, with the World Cup final scheduled to take place on March 21. James will be looking to win his fourth World Cup Crystal Globe title and finish the season with a victory.

Scotty James has made a successful start to his northern hemisphere winter with a silver medal performance overnight at the opening FIS World Cup event in Laax, Switzerland.
 
The 26-year-old triple World Champion from Warrandyte in Victoria put down an impressive opening run scoring 93.75 points to lead all competitors after the first round of finals.
 
In his second run, James had another strong performance scoring 86.50 but was unable to better his first run in the best of two finals format.
 
Going past James in the second run to take the win was Yuto Totsuka from Japan on 95.25 points, with his teammates Ruka Hirano in third place with a score of 88.25.
 
The podium performance is the 11th World Cup medal of James career (6 gold, 4 silver, 1 bronze).
 
“I’m getting my amplitude and execution back and just feeling good snowboarding,” James said, “I mean, it’s been a long time since I’ve really been in the pipe but those Japanese guys, while I was sitting home on the couch in quarantine in Australia not able to go anywhere, they had a halfpipe and they were working hard.”
 
“So I’m really excited (with second place). I’ve got a smile under my mask.”
 
It was a spectacular debut event by Australian 15-year-old snowboarding prodigy Valentino Guseli, who shocked the winter sports world by blitzing the field in qualifying for finals in first place.
 
In the final the teen sensation from the NSW south coast finished in eighth place, an amazing result in his first ever World Cup debut.
 
“Had the greatest experience In Laax this year, thanks for everyone’s support and help,” Guseli posted after the event.
 
“Can’t wait to come back again stronger next year.”
 
James will next be in action at the X Games in Aspen, Colorado, USA, where he will be aiming for his third straight victory at the event on Sunday January 31.

Australian 15-year-old snowboarding prodigy Valentino Guseli has shocked the winter sports world by blitzing the field in qualifying for tonight's Laax Open Halfpipe World Cup in Switzerland.
 
The teen sensation from the NSW south coast wowed the judges with a near perfect 95 point score (out of 100) to lead the field in qualifying in his debut World Cup appearance.
 
Guseli was identified in Australia as an extreme talent some years ago but has been forced to wait till reaching the minimum age of 15 to compete in World Cup competition and test himself against the best riders on the planet. 
 
The qualifying result is the best ever by an Australian winter sports athlete on debut.
 
Fellow Aussie, World number one and triple World Champion Scotty James also qualified with a solid 81 point run in equal 3rd place.
 
The final takes place tonight under lights in Laax with two Aussies well placed to take home some silverware against the world's best snowboarders.
 

Triple World Champion Scotty James relocated to Europe in August and has been training on snow over the past months preparing for the northern hemisphere winter.
 
Tess Coady, Matt Cox and Valentino Guseli all spent time in Perisher during the Australian winter, before travelling to Europe at the end of September for on snow training camps at air bag and glacier based terrain parks in Austria and Switzerland.
 
The Copper Mountain World Cup event scheduled for December was cancelled due to COVID restrictions in Colorado, and postponing the first events of the season until January

Scotty James has continued his amazing win streak, with another gold medal performance at the Dew Tour event in Copper Mountain, Colorado, USA.
 
Competing in a unique modified halfpipe design that incorporated additional big air features usually seen in a terrain park, the 25 year old triple World Champion from Warrandyte, Melbourne, set a high score of 95.33 in his first run, that remained unchallenged for the next two rounds as he extended his winning streak to 11 events.
 
Behind James on the podium was Japanese rider Yuto Totsuka in second with a best score of 93.33 points and Pat Burgener from Switzerland in third with 91.00 points
.
“I never come into any competition expecting to win,” said James.
 
“Everyone is riding so well, so I knew I had to bring my best, to keep the streak alive is just the cherry on top.
 
“Adapting is huge in expressing creativity. Not every pipe is the same, not every run is the same and this course channels that. It’s innovative with lots of elements that are very different and that’s why this is so unique.”
 
James will now head to Calgary, Canada, for a FIS World Cup event next weekend, with the final scheduled to take place on the 15th of February.

The unstoppable Scotty James has capped off an incredible season this weekend, winning gold at six out of six events.

It was at the Burton US Open Snowboard event at Vail, CO, USA that James completed "the perfect season", taking out his sixth halfpipe gold medal for 2018/19 with a score of 92.00.

James credits missing out on first place in the semis, with inspiring his most recent gold-winning run.

"I wanted to ride my snowboard the way I do, I was able to do that and I am over the moon," he said.

"It's been an amazing season and coming up second in the semis put a fire under my butt and I didn't like finishing there."

Scotty James finishes the season with wins at The Dew Tour, X Games, US Grand Prix, Laax Open and the US Burton Open, as well as a third consecutive FIS World Championship title, an unprecedented feat as the first-ever snowboarder to do so.

Of winning his third-consecutive world title, the Melbournian said he couldn't believe it.

“I was pinching myself when I won my second world title, and now I’m triple pinching myself that I’ve won my third. It’s amazing."

NSWIS two-time Olympian Kent Callister also made the 10-man final, finishing ninth overall.

Impressive 13-year-old young gun Valentino Guseli placed 19th in the men's open event, after a spectacular win in the Junior Jam, which qualified the NSWIS Park & Pipe rider for the open competition.

IMAGE - Scotty James celebrating his sixth win of the year in Vail at the US Open © blattphoto

olympics.com.au