Bea Kim grabbed an early advantage in the battle for U.S. Olympic team spots in snowboard halfpipe, placing 3rd behind South Korea’s Gaon Choi and Japan’s Sena Tomita at the U.S. Grand Prix at Copper Mountain.
The U.S. Grand Prix was the second stop on the World Cup circuit for snowboard halfpipe. It also served as the first of three selection events that will help decide the U.S. Olympic team for Milan Cortina.
Choi continued her hot start to the season with her second World Cup victory in as many weeks. The 17-year-old fell at the end of her first run, then put down a full pull on Run 2 to overtake Tomita.
Maintaining strong amplitude throughout her run, Choi landed a switch backside 900 mute, cab 720 double grab, frontside 900 melon, backside 900 stalefish and frontside 720 indy.
With Chloe Kim pulling out of the event after crashing during practice, Bea Kim (no relation) was one of three U.S. women left competing in the final. It was Bea’s first contest in more than a year, having missed most of last season due to injury.
Like many riders in the field, the 18-year-old struggled on Run 1 amid windy conditions, but she increased the difficulty of her run and cleaned up her execution on Run 2. Her run opened with a switch backside 900 mute, then went into a cab 720 mute, frontside 540 tail grab, backside 540 mute and frontside 720 indy.
Maddy Schaffrick (5th) and Maddie Mastro (6th) were the other two Americans in the women’s final. Mastro, who captured the World Cup title last season, has been battling an ankle injury recently but has established herself as a strong medal contender in recent seasons.
The U.S. snowboard halfpipe team will ultimately include four men and four women. Chloe Kim is the only rider who entered this season with their spot already secured.
Three men and two women will automatically be named to the team based on their best single result at one of the three selection events. After that, discretionary selections could potentially come into play.
With a third-place finish, Bea Kim now has the inside track for one of those two automatic spots on the women’s team, but with two events still to come, nothing is settled yet.
On the men’s side, Ryusei Yamada scored his first-career World Cup win with an incredible run full of big tricks and huge amplitude.
Yamada earned a 94.50 for his second run, which opened with a double McTwist 1080 that was both massive and stylish thanks to his amplitude and a tweaked Japan grab. His run continued into a switch McTwist, cab double cork 1440, frontside double cork 1440 and, perhaps most impressive of all, a switch backside alley-oop double rodeo 900.
The 19-year-old Yamada has been surging over the last two seasons, as Japan continues to produce a high number of stars in men’s snowboard halfpipe. His compatriot, Yuto Totsuka, landed just behind him to give Japan a 1-2 finish, while Shuichiro Shigeno took 4th place.
Breaking up the potential Japanese podium sweep was Australia’s Valentino Guseli, who finished 3rd in his first halfpipe contest since February 2024. Guseli, a rare triple threat who also competes at a high level in slopestyle and big air, is coming back this season from a torn ACL.
As for the U.S. men, six Americans made the final for this Olympic selection event. Chase Blackwell led the way with a 5th-place finish, with teammates Jake Pates (6th) and Ryan Wachendorfer (7th) just behind him.
Alessandro Barbieri was unable to land a clean run and finished 10th. The 17-year-old rising star is currently seen as Team USA’s top hope for a medal in men’s snowboard halfpipe.
The next U.S. Olympic selection event for snowboard halfpipe will be the U.S. Grand Prix in Aspen, Colorado, which starts on Jan. 7. Prior to that, the World Cup circuit will make a stop in Calgary for a halfpipe contest beginning on Dec. 31.
The U.S. Grand Prix at Copper continues with finals in men’s and women’s freeski halfpipe.
Women’s Snowboard Halfpipe
1. Gaon Choi (KOR), 94.50
2. Sena Tomita (JPN), 88.75
3. Bea Kim (USA), 75.25
4. Cai Xuetong (CHN), 71.75
5. Maddy Schaffrick (USA), 63.75
6. Maddie Mastro (USA), 61.75
7. Rise Kudo (JPN), 33.50
8. Wu Shaotong (CHN), 19.25
Men’s Snowboard Halfpipe
1. Ryusei Yamada (JPN), 94.50
2. Yuto Totsuka (JPN), 90.50
3. Valentino Guseli (AUS), 84.75
4. Shuichiro Shigeno (JPN), 81.75
5. Chase Blackwell (USA), 79.00
6. Jake Pates (USA), 68.25
7. Ryan Wachendorfer (USA), 65.75
8. Ruka Hirano (JPN), 64.75
9. Joey Okesson (USA), 55.25
10. Alessandro Barbieri (USA), 46.50
11. Jio Lee (KOR), 32.75
12. Chase Josey (USA), 26.25
13. Pat Burgener (BRA), 18.25
14. Wang Ziyang (CHN), 17.25