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.
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.
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