The United States was well-represented on the podium for snowboard halfpipe at the U.S. Grand Prix in Aspen, highlighted by Maddy Schaffrick’s 2nd-place finish and Alessandro Barbieri’s 3rd-place performance.  

The competition in Aspen was the second of three selection events for the Olympic team, and the pressure is mounting to claim the remaining spots on Team USA. There still are three automatic spots up for grabs on the men’s side and two for the women’s team. 

Snowboarders automatically can be named to the Olympic team based on their best single result at one of the selection events. With their results in Aspen, Schaffrick and Barbieri currently have the top finishes among Americans still vying for a spot on the team.

Schaffrick’s comeback tour continued with her strongest performance on the World Cup stage to date, elevating her chances of scooping up one of those final spots. Her top score of 82.75 punched the ticket to her highest finish in a World Cup final since her return to the sport in 2024 following a ten-year hiatus.

The 31-year-old Steamboat Springs native made a loud statement with two very consistent six-trick runs which were marked by a backside 540 mute, followed by a frontside 540 melon, a frontside alley-oop 360 nosegrab, a switch backside 540 mute, a Haakon flip mute, and a backside alley-oop 540 mute. Schaffrick is seeking her first trip to the Olympics.

Notable contenders for the Olympic team like Maddie Mastro chose not to compete in Aspen, looking instead to show out at the upcoming Laax Open in Switzerland beginning on Jan. 15. That will be the fifth halfpipe World Cup stop of the season, and the final selection event for U.S. Ski and Snowboard before the Winter Games.

On the men’s side, Barbieri’s highest score of 89.25 was elevated by his signature triple cork. He became the first American ever to land the trick in competition earlier this season and executed it cleanly on his second run to secure the podium. Barbieri also put down a switch backside 1260, one of the most difficult tricks on display thus far.

This is the second time the 17-year-old has reached the top three so far in his World Cup career, along with another 3rd-place showing in Calgary last February.

Meanwhile, the elite Japanese development program took a front seat in both the men’s and women’s competitions. In the men’s event, Yuto Totsuka’s score of 90.50 narrowly beat out fellow countryman Shuichiro Shigeno, who tallied a score of 90.00, for top honors.

The win was Totsuka’s first World Cup victory since Secret Garden in 2024, which included massive tricks like the cab double 1440 double grab and the frontside double 1440 indy.

Totsuka’s dominant showing en route to his third podium finish this season allowed him to pull ahead of Australia’s Valentino Guseli into first place in the overall World Cup standings. That makes him the fourth Japanese athlete in the top five of the FIS rankings.

On the other hand, Schaffrick was the only woman from outside Japan to place in the top six. Mitsuki Ono landed on top of the podium for the first time this season with a score of 91.00 – the highest overall mark for the day – beating out Schaffrick’s 2nd-place tally by a wide margin. Ono’s winning run featured a frontside 900 tailgrab followed by a backside 540 mute, a frontside 720 truck driver, a cab 900 stalefish, and finally a switch backside 540 mute to close out the run.

2022 Olympic bronze medalist Sena Tomita rounded out the women’s podium, finishing 3rd with a score of 80.75. This marked her second trip to the podium after a 2nd-place outing at Copper Mountain.

These athletes will have one more chance to hit the snow before the Olympics at the Laax Open, while the U.S. Grand Prix in Aspen continues Saturday with the snowboard slopestyle and freeski halfpipe events.

Men's Snowboard Halfpipe

1. Yuto Totsuka (JPN), 90.50
2. Shuichiro Shigeno (JPN), 90.00
3. Alessandro Barbieri (USA), 89.25
4. Valentino Guseli (AUS), 86.75
5. Ruka Hirano (JPN), 81.00
6. Ryusei Yamada (JPN), 80.00
7. Jake Pates (USA), 78.00
8. Ryan Wachendorfer (USA), 76.00
9. Chase Josey (USA), 71.75
10. Joey Okesson (USA), 70.50
11. Levko Fedorowycz (USA), 40.00
12. Campbell Melville Ives (NZL), 38.75
13. Wang Ziyang (CHN), 25.50
14. Kaishu Hirano (JPN), 12.50

Women's Snowboard Halfpipe

1. Mitsuki Ono (JPN), 91.00
2. Maddy Schaffrick (USA), 82.75
3. Sena Tomita (JPN), 80.75
4. Rise Kudo (JPN), 79.25
5. Sorana Ohashi (JPN), 79.00
6. Ruki Tomita (JPN), 75.00
7. Elizabeth Hosking (CAN), 66.25
8. Amelie Haskell (AUS), 63.00
9. Liu Jiayu (CHN), 62.50
10. Ai Yanyi (CHN), 50.75