Breakpoints

No Retina
Retina
XS Screen (480px)
SM+ Screen
SM Screen (768px)
SM- Screen
MD+ Screen
MD Screen (992px)
MD- Screen
LG+ Screen
LG Screen (1200px)
LG- Screen
XL+ Screen (1600px)

Aerials Athletes Compete First Events of the Season

By U.S. Ski & Snowboard
December, 24 2019
NorAm Women's Podium
U.S. Ski Team athletes Megan Nick and Winter Vinecki came in first and second on Dec. 20, Canada's Marion Thenault came in third.

Aerials skiers of the U.S. Ski Team competed in their first events of the season Dec. 20-21 at the Utah Olympic Park NorAm in Park City. Electing not to go to China for the first aerials FIS World Cup Events, the team opted for more on-snow training and the NorAm served as good early season competition experience. 

NorAms are the level of competition below World Cups and are the development pipeline for up and coming aerials athletes to prove themselves. Utah Olympic Park (UOP) provided a great site and the weather proved favorable - no wind for three days made for great jumps from the U.S. Team, U.S. clubs and the Canadian Development Team. “It was great to see lots of young aerialists from both countries doing new tricks and having fun!” said U.S. Ski & Snowboard Aerials World Cup and Development Coach Eric Bergoust. 

On Friday Chris Lillis landed in first and Eric Loughran in second. Megan Nick scored the top spot for the women and Winter Vinecki came in second. On Saturday Eric came in first and Alex Bown landed the third spot. On the women’s side Kaila Kuhn came in first, Winter Vinecki earned second and Megan Nick came in third. 

The U.S. Team enters another prep period at the UOP where they will focus on higher degrees of difficulty in their jumps. Their first World Cup is set for January 25, 2020 in Moscow, Russia.


 

Cochran-Siegle, Radamus Lead U.S. in Alta Badia PGS

By Courtney Harkins
December, 23 2019
River Radamus
River Radamus skis to his best World Cup result in the Alta Badia PGS. (Getty Images/Agence Zoom - Alexis Boichard)

Ryan Cochran-Siegle led the Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team in the parallel giant slalom in Alta Badia, Italy with a 12th place and young River Radamus placed 14th, his best World Cup result so far.

The parallel events are always some of the most entertaining races on the FIS Ski World Cup circuit and this one was no different. Monday’s race took place at night under the lights with a screaming crowd cheering for the .01-second wins and wild recoveries, and groaning at the crashes and upsets. Rasmus Windingstad of Norway grabbed the win over Stefan Luitz of Germany in the big final, while Roland Leitinger of Austria beat out Sunday’s giant slalom winner Henrik Kristoffersen in the small final to take his first World Cup podium in third.

On the U.S. side, Ryan, River and Tommy Ford all qualified for the PGS finals in the last race before Christmas. Tommy was eliminated in the first round by Zan Kranjec of Slovenia, finishing 23rd overall. River and Ryan both made it to the 1/8 final but were beaten out by eventual podium finishers Leitinger and Luitz, respectively.  

This was River’s second time scoring World Cup points, continuing to show that world that he’s one to keep an eye on through the season. “I felt like I’ve been knocking on the door all season and it feels great to get a little breakthrough here,” said River. “This is an awesome event, and I’m psyched to have put a few good runs together under the lights tonight. I’m hungry to keep the momentum rolling into the next races in January.”

Brian McLaughlin and Steven Nyman also started in today's qualifier, but did not qualify for the race. Cochran-Siegle showcased his consistency and speed, taking his eighth point-scoring result of the season out of nine starts so far. 

Next up, the men have a short Christmas break before heading to Bormio, Italy for two downhill races—including the downhill rescheduled from Val Gardena, Italy—and an alpine combined.

RESULTS
Men’s Parallel Giant Slalom

FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL
Instagram
Facebook
Twitter

First Rev Tour Stop Wrapped at Copper Mountain

By Andrew Gauthier
December, 23 2019
Rev Tour
Andrew Longino of Canada (center), Lennon Vaughan (left), and Tristan Feinberg (right) at the U.S. Revolution Tour at Copper Mountain. Colo. (U.S. Ski & Snowboard)

The first U.S. Rev Tour FIS NorAm stop of the season took place at Copper Mountain Dec. 16-21 and young freeskiers and snowboarders kicked off their season with style. The event kicked off with two days of snowboard halfpipe competition on Dec. 17 and 18. 

U.S. Snowboard Rookie Team member Jack Coyne started the event with a second-place. “I’m super stoked to be here at the Rev Tour,” said Jack. "There’s more camaraderie than any other event I’ve been to and I’m so happy to be here with everybody.” 

Third place finisher Rakai Tait of Australia could not have been more excited for winner Shuichiro Shigeno. “It’s so great to be out here among all the up-and-coming riders,” said Rakai. “I’m stoked for Shuichiro. It was so rad to see his excitement on top of the podium.” 

American Zoe Kalapos finished in second place.  “It was so much fun,” said Zoe. “I was really cold in the morning, but I was really excited to ride," said Zoe. "The pipe was great and the girls were all sending so it turned out to be a really great contest.” 

Men
1. Shuichiro Shigeno (JPN)
2. Jack Coyne (USA)
3. Rakai Tait (AUS)

Women
1. Brooke Dhondt (CAN)
2. Zoe Kalapos (USA)
3. Manon Kaji (JPN)

On day two of snowboard halfpipe, U.S. Snowboard Team member Lucas Foster found his way to the podium. “It was a great couple days of snowboarding,” said Lucas. “ I did some of the best runs that I’ve ever done and that’s all I really care to do. To be on the podium is just icing on the cake. All we ever really want to do is just do our personal best out here.” 

For the women, U.S. Snowboard Rookie Team member Tessa Maud finished in second place.  “It was so much fun,” said Tessa. “All the ladies were killing it as always. Finals were so stacked for both men’s and women’s fields. I’m lucky to be on the team and to have my family, friends, and J.J. (JJ Thomas - U.S. Snowboard Development Team Coach) supporting me!”

Men
1. Kaushi Hirano (JPN)
2. Rakai Tait (AUS)
3. Lucas Foster (USA)

Women
1. Manon Kaji (JPN)
2. Tessa Maud (USA)
3. Takara Tamada (JPN)

Freeski halfpipe competition kicked off on Dec. 20 where Zoe Atkin won day one of freeski competition going back-to-back after also winning the Land Rover U.S. Grand Prix World Cup at Copper only one week earlier. 

Riley Jacobs earned third place. “It was a really fun day,” said Riley. “We got to go out early and I was excited because it was my first competition of the year after coming back from an injury.  It was really fun trying to get out and throw some tricks I hadn’t done in a while and to see all of these great people." 

For the men, American Aaron Durlester rounded out the men’s podium in third place. 

Men
1. Andrew Longino (CAN)
2. Jon Sallinen (FIN)
3. Aaron Durlester (USA)

Women
1. Zoe Atkin (GBR)
2. Amy Fraser (CAN)
3. Riley Jacobs (USA)

On day two of freeski competition, Zoe extended her winning streak to three. “Everyone killed it these last two days,” said Zoe. “I had such a great time and it was a really great competition.” 

Also, Amy Fraser was ecstatic to be at Copper Mountain. “I’m stoked to come away happy and healthy,” said Amy. “It’s so rad that Copper has their pipe open and running so early in the season and holds these events for us. I’m stoked to be down here skiing in the USA.” 

For the men, Americans Lennon Vaughan and Tristan Feinberg finished in second and third respectively. Andrew Longino won the event for the second day in a row. 

“I’m super-stoked to stand on the podium two days in a row,” said Andrew. “I’ve never gotten to do that. This is actually my first Rev Tour podium in my life so it’s awesome, and after two beautiful days of skiing, I’m super happy to be out here with all my friends at an all-around a great weekend at Copper."

Men
1. Andrew Longino (CAN)
2. Lennon Vaughan (USA)
3. Tristan Feinberg (USA)

Women
1. Zoe Atkin (GBR) 
2. Rachael Anderson (CAN)
3. Amy Fraser (CAN)

The next Rev Tour stop will be at Mammoth Mountain Ski Area Feb. 4-9 for slopestyle, halfpipe, and big air competition. 

FULL RESULTS
 

Cochran-Siegle, Ford Top 20 in Snowy Alta Badia

By Courtney Harkins
December, 22 2019
Ryan Cochran-Siegle
Ryan Cochran-Siegle skis through dumping snow to 19th place. (Getty Images/Agence Zoom - Alexis Boichard)

The men struggled with low visibility and snowy course conditions at the FIS Ski World Cup giant slalom in Alta Badia, Italy, with Ryan Cochran-Siegle and Tommy Ford leading the way for the Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team in 19th and 20th, respectively.

With multiple podiums in Alta Badia under his belt, Henrik Kristoffersen of Norway finally took his first win on the famed Gran Risa. Frenchman Cyprien Sarrazin put down a blazing fast second run and skiing from bib 35 (and 22nd place first run!) to second. Zan Kranjec of Slovenia was third.

After days of heavy snowfall throughout Europe caused a shortened super-G on Friday and canceled Saturday’s downhill in Val Gardena, the men hoped for better conditions in Alta Badia for the tech events. But while the snow had let up slightly overnight, the morning proved a different animal with the men waking up to more dumping snow.

“They were able to inject a little bit last night and it felt like it was going to be pretty good in sections, but it rotted and the snow was pretty crummy,” said Tommy, who recently won the giant slalom in Beaver Creek, Colo. “It was hard to finish turns and keep a clean edge. It was a rattle ride the whole way down both runs.”

It was rough for all the World Cup men, with plenty of DNFs and many not able to maintain their first run results due to course conditions. But Ryan looked at it as a learning experience.

“Personally, I haven’t been skiing a lot of GS. I feel fine about (the result)—not overly enthusiastic, but not too down by any means. Tommy and I both want more and know we can have more, but it takes a bit of executing on race day,” said Ryan. “Moving forward, we’re trying to learn from how we can ski better in these conditions. They are challenging conditions, but also not the norm on the World Cup.”

River Radamus and Brian McLaughlin started, but did not qualify for a second run. Ted Ligety was in the podium-hunt first run, but got a little off-balance over a roller, causing him to miss a gate and DNF.

Next up, the men ski a parallel giant slalom on Monday on the Gran Risa. “It’s always a pleasure to be in Alta Badia, whether it’s in these kinds of conditions or not,” said Tommy good-naturedly. “Now we’re preparing for tomorrow—the parallel event. Should be pretty good!”

RESULTS
Men’s Giant Slalom

FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL
Instagram
Facebook
Twitter
Official event hashtags: #swcaltabadia #granrisa (Alta Badia)

HOW TO WATCH 
All times EST

Sunday, Dec. 22
7:30 p.m. - Men's giant slalom, Alta Badia, ITA - NBCSN (replay)

Monday, Dec. 23
9:00 a.m. - Men’s parallel giant slalom qualifying, Alta Badia, ITA - Olympic Channel.comNBC Sports Gold
12:00 p.m - Men’s parallel giant slalom, Alta Badia, ITA - Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.comNBC Sports Gold

*Same-day broadcast
**Next-day broadcast

Note: All televised events to stream across NBCSports.com, NBC Sports app, OlympicChannel.com, and Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA app

Exclusive commercial-free coverage will be available for subscribers of the NBC Sports Gold Pass, available here: https://www.nbcsports.com/gold/snow

 

U.S. Fifth, Seventh In Planica Team Sprint

By Tom Horrocks
December, 22 2019
Team Sprint
Heavy rain turned to heavy snow for the team sprint finals at Planica, Slovenia, Sunday. (© Modica/NordicFocus.)

The Davis U.S. Cross Country Ski Team women’s team of Julia Kern and Sophie Caldwell finished fifth in the team sprint in Planica, Slovenia Sunday. The men’s team of Kevin Bolger and Logan Hanneman finished seventh. 

Qualifying began with similar conditions the athletes faced during Saturday’s individual sprint - rain and wet snow surfaces. But by the time the finals were underway, the rain had changed to heavy wet snow, which resulted in challenging conditions and significantly slower lap times.

The FIS Cross Country World Cup season continues with the first event of the 14th edition of the FIS Cross-Country Tour de Ski, a 10k freestyle mass start for the women, and a 15k freestyle mass start for the men Saturday, Dec. 28 in Lenzerheide, Switzerland.

RESULTS
Women’s freestyle team sprint
Men’s freestyle team sprint




 

Val d'Isere Race Series Cancelled, Shiffrin Maintains Overall Lead

By Megan Harrod
December, 22 2019
Mikaela Shiffrin Maintains Overall Lead
With the Val d'Isere series cancelled due to weather, Mikaela Shiffrin maintains her lead in the overall by 165 points over Italy's Federica Brignone. (Dustin Satloff - Getty Images)

Unfortunately, due to strong winds and heavy snowfall, the jury together with the organizing committee at Val d'Isere France decided to cancel the women's downhill.

On Saturday, due to weather, the women's downhill was cancelled then pushed to Sunday to replace the alpine combined. With a weather pattern coming in to Val d'Isere forecasted to bring over one meter of snow, the organizers were uncertain but hopeful about the rescheduled race on Sunday. In the end, it proved to be too unsafe to hold a fair race, and the entire series has been cancelled. It is unclear when and where the races will be scheduled, but stay tuned for more information. 

Current FIS Ski World Cup leader Mikaela Shiffrin had opted out of the weekend's races to train and focus on tech events for the upcoming Lienz, Austria giant slalom and slalom races on Dec. 28-29, which⁠—once again⁠—proved to be the right decision for more reasons than one. Not only did she get some valuable training in, but Mikaela maintains her lead in the overall by 165 points over Italy's Federica Brignone. And, so it seems, Mikaela even wins when it comes to the weather. 

Up next for the women will be the tech series in Lienz, while Alice McKennis and the speed women have a break over the holidays and will return to action in Altenmarkt-Zauchensee on Jan. 11-12 with a downhill and an alpine combined. 

FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL
Instagram
Facebook
Twitter
Official event hashtags: #swcaltabadia #granrisa (Alta Badia)

HOW TO WATCH 
All times EST

Sunday, Dec. 22
3:30 a.m. - Men’s giant slalom run 1, Alta Badia, ITA - Olympic Channel.comNBC Sports Gold
7:00 a.m. - Men’s giant slalom run 1, Alta Badia, ITA - Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.comNBC Sports Gold

Monday, Dec. 23
9:00 a.m. - Men’s parallel giant slalom qualifying, Alta Badia, ITA - Olympic Channel.comNBC Sports Gold
12:00 p.m - Men’s parallel giant slalom, Alta Badia, ITA - Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.comNBC Sports Gold

*Same-day broadcast
**Next-day broadcast

Note: All televised events to stream across NBCSports.com, NBC Sports app, OlympicChannel.com, and Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA app

Exclusive commercial-free coverage will be available for subscribers of the NBC Sports Gold Pass, available here: https://www.nbcsports.com/gold/snow.

Hall Hits Walk-Off Home Run with Big Air Win

By Andrew Gauthier
December, 21 2019
A-Hall
Alex Hall (center) on the podium with Antoine Adelisse (left) and Teal Harle (right) at the Visa Big Air presented by Land Rover freeski finals. (U.S. Ski & Snowboard

Alex Hall won his third-consecutive big air event at the Visa Big Air presented by Land Rover at SunTrust Park with a walk-off switch left double 1800 Buick. Not only did he land all three of his runs, but he finished off the night with the biggest score of the competition and locked in the freeski big air hat-trick. 

“It feels great to win three in a row, but I wasn’t thinking too much about the streak,” said Alex. “I was just out there skiing and having fun. It feels insane, especially how well everyone skied, and in front of such a big crowd, it was just special to be a part of it all. I think I can speak for everyone when I say we were having a ton of fun out there and just putting on a show for the people of Atlanta.” 

Earlier this season, Alex earned X Games Norway big air gold, the Modena, Italy, World Cup big air, and tonight, he locked in the victory in Atlanta, Ga. in front of an energetic and supportive crowd. The Atlanta crowd may not have ever witnessed anything like tonight’s event in SunTrust Park, but that didn’t stop them from erupting upon every stomped trick. 

Antoine Adellise of France finished in second and Teal Harle of Canada finished in third. 

For the women, U.S. Freeski Rookie Team member Marin Hamill was the top finisher in qualifiers for the Americans in eighth place just two spots out of the final. Teammates Rell Harwood finish in tenth place, Caroline Claire in 12th, and grace Henderson in 14th. In finals, Swiss freeskiers Mathilde Gremaud and Giulia Tanno earned first and second place, and Great Britain’s Isabel closed out the podium in third. 

The final FIS Freeski World Cup big air competition will take place in Destne, Czech Republic Feb. 28-29 which will serve as the final stop and crown the World Cup big air champions. 

RESULTS
Men’s freeski finals
Women’s freeski finals

TRICK LIST
MEN
Alex Hall:
Left double 1620 Buick (Seatbelt & Cuban), Switch left double 1800 Buick.
Antoine Adelisse: Right triple 1620 Mute, Pre-grab switch triple 1440 Nose.
Teal Harle: Switch left double 1800 Mute, Left double 1620 tweaked Japan. 

WOMEN:
Mathilde Gremaud:
Left double 1260 Safety, Right rodeo 900 Lead Tail.
Giulia Tanno: Left double 1080 Safety, Switch left 1080 Tail.
Isabel Atkin: RIght cork 900 Tail, Switch left 1080 Tail.

Press Conference Recording 

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST

FREESKI
Saturday, Dec. 21

7:00 p.m. - Visa Big Air Presented by Land Rover, Atlanta - NBCSN, NBCSports.com, NBC Sports Gold

Sunday, Dec. 22
3:00 p.m. - Visa Big Air Presented by Land Rover, Atlanta - NBC*

 

Kern Earns First Career World Cup Podium Result

By Tom Horrocks
December, 21 2019
Julia Kern celebrates her World Cup Podium
Julia Kern celebrates her first World Cup podium, finishing third in the freestyle sprint Saturday in Planica, Slovenia. (www.nordicfocus.com. © Modica/NordicFocus.)

Julia Kern overcame challenging snow conditions, rain, and lightning delays to claim her first career World Cup Podium, finishing third Saturday in Planica, Slovenia. Sophie Caldwell was fourth. On the men’s side, Simi Hamilton led three Americans into the heats, finishing 12th, Kevin Bolger was 18th and Logan Hanneman was 25th. 

“The conditions were so crazy and I think that was so fun and amusing,” said Julia, who kept the podium streak going for the U.S. women with the fifth-straight top-three result. “It was weird to stand on the podium, honestly it didn’t feel real, but I am sure the feeling will kick in later.”

“It was so cool to see Julia get her first podium,” Sophie said. “I knew she was going to have a good one as soon as we saw the weather forecast because she’s one of the few people who are tough enough to actually enjoy adverse conditions. It was pouring rain all day long, so the trick to the day was figuring out how to stay warm and dry between races and how to warm up before races. The conditions felt a little surreal, and we even had a delay for a thunder and lightning storm, but I would say we made the best of it and I am just so proud of Julia.”

Julia qualified 20th and stormed into the heats, which were delayed midway through due to lightning and thunder. She won her crash-filled quarterfinal heat, moving into the lead from fifth position with a powerful V1 technique to skate away from the field. In the semifinals, she pulled the same move and again staked away from the field to take the win.

“I felt really good, especially on the V1 sections and into the finish,” she said.

Meanwhile, Sophie qualified fifth. She finished second in her quarterfinal heat and then advanced to the semifinals as one of the lucky losers. 

In the finals, Julia again found herself in fifth, right behind Sophie, with Sweden’s Stina Nilsson, who missed a stroke off the start, charging from the back and moving into the lead heading into the first climb. At the midway point of the race, it looked like Julia was gapped off the back, as Sophie battled for the inside line, almost running off of the snow, to move into third. But Julia dug deep to maintain contact and when Sweden’s Linn Svahn - last week’s sprint winner - fell after making contact with Sophie’s ski, it opened up the inside line for a clear sprint to the finish.

“I was really nervous the first half of the final, but then kicked into gear on the last hill,” Julia said. Sweden’s Jonna Sundling took the victory, with Stina rebounding from her poor start to finish second.

“Today was a really great day for our team,” Sophie said. “Also very cool to have all three men and two women qualify for the heats and have three in the semi and two in the final.”

With her third-place finish, Julia moved up to 25th in the overall World Cup standings. Jessie Diggins is the top Davis U.S. Cross Country Team member in third overall, Sadie Maubet Bjornsen is fourth, Sophie is 18th, and Rosie Brennan is 21st.

Up next, Julia and Sophie, and Simi and Kevin will team up for Sunday’s Team sprint. 

RESULTS
Women’s freestyle sprint
Men’s freestyle sprint

WORLD CUP STANDINGS
Women
Men

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST

Sunday, Dec. 22
5:00 a.m. - Men and women’s team sprint, Planica, SLO - Olympic Channel
6:30 p.m. - Men and women’s team sprint, Planica, SLO - NBCSN*

*Same-day broadcast

 

Double Downhill Cancellation for Alpine Men and Women

By Megan Harrod
December, 21 2019
Steven Nyman Val Gardena
Steven Nyman throws a peace sign to the camera after taking first place for the third time in his career at Val Gardena, Italy on December, 19, 2014. (Francis Bompard - Agence Zoom/Getty Images)

As rain poured down in Val Gardena, Italy, and wreaked havoc on the Saslong track, the organizers together with the jury decided to cancel Saturday's classic men's downhill race. Over in Val d'Isere, France, snow fell throughout the night, forcing organizers to cancel Saturday's women's downhill race. 

Earlier in the morning, the decision in Val Gardena was that the men would start from the reserve start (super-G start). As rain continued to fall and conditions grew more and more questionable, the decision was made to cancel the race. In Val d'Isere, the forecast is calling for over one meter of snow Sunday, but the weather was supposed to be clear on Saturday for the women's downhill. With no indication the snow will slow down, as the forecast currently looks like 100% chance for snow throughout the night and into Tuesday. 

"Obviously a big bummer," said Steven Nyman after getting word about the cancellation at the venue where he's won all three of his FIS Ski World Cup victories. "It's a place where the Americans have traditionally done well. Bryce is super bummed, but that's ski racing and I am looking forward to Bormio [Italy]. I'm not sure if it's official, but they're talking about making two downhills in Bormio. That's a track I know I can do well on, so we just have to look ahead. That's part of the sport."

Last year, the American men went 4-5-6 (Bryce Bennett, Steven and Travis Ganong) in the Val Gardena downhill, starting what would be a solid streak of consistency for Bryce, in particular. In Bormio on a vertical ice rink, Bryce threw down and ended up in fourth, matching his career best at the previous race in Val Gardena—just 15 one-hundredths off the podium. 

The women's program has been confirmed for Sunday, with downhill replacing the alpine combined. With the way things are shaping up in Val d'Isere, current overall leader Mikaela Shiffrin's decision to forego the downhill and alpine combined in Val d'Isere is looking to have, once again, been a very wise move—reminiscent of the her decision last year to skip the speed series in Sochi, Russia, where all races were cancelled. 

Up next, the men will head to Alta Badia, Italy for a giant slalom and parallel giant slalom, where all eyes will be on Beaver Creek, Colo. winner Tommy Ford. With Val d’Isere having been cancelled, the men are chomping at the bit to ski one of their favorite tracks on the tour: the Gran Risa in Alta Badia, Italy. Tommy scored a career-best (at the time) fifth in Alta Badia in 2018, leading four Americans into the points. 

FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL
Instagram
Facebook
Twitter
Official event hashtags: #swcaltabadia #granrisa (Alta Badia)

HOW TO WATCH 
All times EST

Sunday, Dec. 22
3:30 a.m. - Men’s giant slalom run 1, Alta Badia, ITA - Olympic Channel.comNBC Sports Gold
7:00 a.m. - Men’s giant slalom run 1, Alta Badia, ITA - Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.comNBC Sports Gold

Monday, Dec. 23
9:00 a.m. - Men’s parallel giant slalom qualifying, Alta Badia, ITA - Olympic Channel.comNBC Sports Gold
12:00 p.m - Men’s parallel giant slalom, Alta Badia, ITA - Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.comNBC Sports Gold

*Same-day broadcast
**Next-day broadcast

Note: All televised events to stream across NBCSports.com, NBC Sports app, OlympicChannel.com, and Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA app

Exclusive commercial-free coverage will be available for subscribers of the NBC Sports Gold Pass, available here: https://www.nbcsports.com/gold/snow.

Corning Makes History at Visa Big Air

By Andrew Gauthier
December, 20 2019
Chris Corning
Chris Corning on the top of the podium with Canada's Nicolas Laframboise (left) and Japan's Ryoma Kimata (right) at the Visa Big Air presented by Land Rover at SunTrust Park in Atlanta, Ga. (U.S. Ski & Snowboard - Sarah Brunson)

Chris Corning made history Friday night at the Visa Big Air presented by Land Rover at SunTrust Park in Atlanta, Ga. Not only did he win the first-ever internationally sanctioned ski and snowboard event in the southeast, but he also landed the first-ever quad cork 1800 on a scaffold big air jump. 

“I feel great right now and I’m very happy to be alive after that,” Chris said jokingly. “It’s always scary trying it because I really don’t ever do it in practice or anything like that. I have to get pumped up to do that trick and let go of anything I’m thinking about. Also, it’s really cool to go to a place I have never been and take in the atmosphere. It was great to see how many people showed up and feel that support.”

 

 

Coming into the third and final run, Chris was in second place behind Canada’s Nicholas Laframboise, who was right on Corning’s tail in the FIS World Cup big air standings in second. With Friday’s competition representing the final World Cup big air of the season, there was a lot riding on the last jump of the night. Chris swept the pressure aside and cemented himself in the snowboard history books, securing the victory, the Visa Best Trick award, and the FIS World Cup Big Air Crystal Globe. Remarkably, this is the seventh Crystal Globe of his career. 

U.S. Snowboard Team member Judd Henkes landed a backside triple cork 1620 on his third and final run to move into a respectable fourth place and locked down the only other trick to score in the 90’s throughout the night outside of Chris. The Atlanta crowd absolutely erupted in approval. Also, teammate Sean FitzSimons landed a pair of triple corks to solidify fifth place. The men’s U.S. Snowboard Team put on an incredible performance in a heated World Cup final. 

Nicolas finished in second place at the event and in the overall World Cup standings. Japan’s Ryoma Kimata finished third. 

For the women, U.S. Snowboard Team member and Olympian Julia Marino finished just outside of the podium. She certainly put on a show for the Atlanta fans, landing a cab double underflip to kick off the night on her first run. Although Jamie Andreson qualified through to finals, she elected not to compete after taking a fall during training. 

Japanese riders Reira Iwabuchi and Kokomo Murase finished first and second respectively, while Canada’s Brooke Voigt rounded out the podium in third. 

Competition will continue at SunTrust Park Saturday with men and women’s freeski qualifications, followed by the finals. Join us at SunTrust Park or tune in on NBCSN at 7 p.m. EST to catch the action live. 

RESULTS
Women’s snowboard big air
Men’s snowboard big air

FINAL CUP STANDINGS
Women’s snowboard big air
Men’s snowboard big air

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST

SNOWBOARD
Saturday, Dec. 21

3:00 p.m. - Visa Big Air Presented by Land Rover - NBC**

FREESKI
Saturday, Dec. 21

7:00 p.m. - Visa Big Air Presented by Land Rover, Atlanta - NBCSN, NBCSports.com, NBC Sports Gold

Sunday, Dec. 22
3:00 p.m. - Visa Big Air Presented by Land Rover, Atlanta - NBC*

*Same-day broadcast
**Next-day broadcast

Note: All televised events to stream across NBCSports.com, NBC Sports app, OlympicChannel.com, and Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA app

Exclusive commercial-free coverage will be available for subscribers of the NBC Sports Gold Pass, available here: https://www.nbcsports.com/gold/snow.