Alex Ferreira kicked off his season with a win and Hunter Hess boosted his odds of making the Olympic team, as the two Americans earned a 1-2 finish in men’s freeski halfpipe at the U.S. Grand Prix at Copper Mountain.
On a day when many skiers struggled with the windy conditions, Ferreira found himself in 4th place after the first set of runs. That all changed when he came back on Run 2 and cleaned up the execution of his run — which consisted of a switch right double 1080, left double 1260, right 1080, switch left double 1080 and right double 1260 — to score a 91.50 and bump Hess out of the lead.
Hess, the final skier to drop, responded with a strong run of his own that culminated in a massive left misty 720, but a missed grab in the middle of his run may have been the decisive factor that kept him from reclaiming the top spot. Hess improved his score a bit —from an 88.00 to an 89.00 — thanks to the increased difficulty but still finished 2nd behind Ferreira.
Canada’s Andrew Longino took 3rd to round out the podium.
With the win, Ferreira extended his podium streak on the World Cup circuit to 12 consecutive events. Since the 2022 Beijing Olympics, he hasn’t finished lower than 4th at a World Cup competition.
“Honestly I had a couple bobbles on my first run,” Ferreira said afterward. “Forget about the result, I just want to do it for me and come out here and land a really good run and grab everything and earn it. I definitely think I did that, and I am so, so grateful.”
Aside from being a World Cup competition, the U.S. Grand Prix at Copper also served as the second of four selection events for the U.S. Olympic freeski halfpipe team.
Ferreira, a two-time Olympic medalist who will be chasing his first gold medal at the Milan Cortina Games, is already qualified for the U.S. team. However, this event held significant importance for the 10 other Americans in the men’s final.
Three men’s spots on the U.S. team are still up for grabs, and the field of contenders is very deep. Up to two skiers will automatically be named to the Olympic team based on their best single result at one of the selection events, but those skiers must have a top-three finish to trigger that automatic selection. After that, discretionary selections could potentially come into play.
Among the skiers still battling for a spot on the Olympic team, Hess was the only one to finish on the podium at Copper. That was also the case at last week’s selection event where he placed 3rd. Although nothing is settled yet, those finishes have Hess, the new World Cup points leader, set up very well entering the final two selection events.
Tristan Feinberg (5th), Ben Fethke (6th) and Birk Irving (7th) had the next-best finishes among Americans at Copper Mountain. Olympians David Wise, Aaron Blunck and Nick Goepper were all unable to land a full run and will look for a better result at the next event.
In the women’s halfpipe contest at the U.S. Grand Prix, Great Britain’s Zoe Atkin earned her first victory of the season. The reigning world champion’s amplitude was on display as she overcame the conditions on her first run to put down a left 540, right 720 tail grab, switch left 720 Japan, right 540 leading tail grab, right alley-oop 360 and switch right 720 safety. That run scored a 89.25, which no other skiers came within striking distance of.
Australia’s Indra Brown, just 15 years old, followed up last week’s impressive World Cup debut with another podium finish. With a 3rd-place at Secret Garden and a 2nd-place at Copper now on her résumé, she’s someone to keep an eye on this season.
China’s Zhang Kexin joined Atkin and Brown on the podium in 3rd place.
Three U.S. women made the final at Copper Mountain, led by Kate Gray’s 5th-place result. With no podium finishes through the first two selection events, the competition to make the Olympic team remains wide open, but these finishes from Gray and teammates Riley Jacobs and Abby Winterberger could eventually come into play as the selection process unfolds.
The World Cup circuit takes a week off before reconvening in Calgary for a halfpipe contest starting on Jan. 1. That competition will also serve as the third Olympic selection event for the U.S. freeski team.
Men’s Freeski Halfpipe
1. Alex Ferreira (USA), 91.50
2. Hunter Hess (USA), 89.00
3. Andrew Longino (CAN), 84.00
4. Gus Kenworthy (GBR), 81.25
5. Tristan Feinberg (USA), 77.25
6. Ben Fethke (USA), 76.75
7. Birk Irving (USA), 75.50
8. Toma Matsuura (JPN), 71.25
9. Liam Richards (GBR), 69.50
10. Cael Mccarthy (USA), 67.25
11. Hunter Maytin (USA), 61.25
12. Cooper Breen (NZL), 58.25
13. David Wise (USA), 27.00
14. Aaron Blunck (USA), 26.00
15. Dylan Ladd (USA), 25.50
16. Nick Goepper (USA), 21.50
Women’s Freeski Halfpipe
1. Zoe Atkin (GBR), 89.25
2. Indra Brown (AUS), 80.00
3. Zhang Kexin (CHN), 77.50
4. Liu Yishan (CHN), 75.00
5. Kate Gray (USA), 72.25
6. Mischa Thomas (NZL), 68.75
7. Riley Jacobs (USA), 65.00
8. Abby Winterberger (USA), 61.25