KREISCHBERG, Austria, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) — Chinese snowboarder Yang Wenlong gained his first-ever FIS Snowboard Big Air World Cup victory on Saturday evening, narrowly edging out Japan’s Hasegawa Taiga.
In the boys’s occasion, Yang scored a complete of 182.5 factors, surpassing Hasegawa’s 180.25 factors to assert gold. Hasegawa’s compatriot Kimura Kira rounded out the rostrum in third place with a rating of 168.75.
The competitors adopted a three-run format, with the very best two runs figuring out the ultimate rating. Yang entered the third run trailing Hasegawa by seven factors however executed a near-perfect bottom 1980 with a Japan seize, incomes 96.5 factors. Hasegawa tried to reclaim the lead with one other high-difficulty trick however was unsuccessful.
This season’s World Cup outcomes are important for qualification for the 2026 Milan Winter Olympics. Yang, who had beforehand claimed bronze on the Beijing World Cup cease, expressed his dedication to excel in every occasion to safe sufficient factors for Olympic qualification.
“Winning a World Cup medal is a dream come true, it motivates me to keep pushing for my ultimate goal – the Winter Olympics,” stated Yang after the Beijing World Cup cease.
On the ladies’s facet, Austrian veteran Anna Gasser, 33-year-old, claimed gold with 167.75 factors, adopted by Japan’s Iwabuchi Reira with 157.75 factors and Britain’s Mia Brookes in third with 148 factors.
“To still be able to keep up with my younger competitors, it’s such a great time for me… It’s kind of proof that it was right to keep on going, that I’m still on the right path,” Anna Gasser stated.
China’s 18-year-old rising star Zhang Xiaonan completed fourth in her first World Cup remaining look throughout her debut senior season.