On Sunday, Japan’s Yuto Totsuka delivered an outstanding performance, clinching gold in the initial round of the snowboarding halfpipe World Cup at the Secret Garden resort in China. Japanese snowboarder Yuto Totsuka beams after his victory in the men’s halfpipe at the World Cup season opener at China’s Secret Garden resort in Zhangjiakou on Dec. […]
On Sunday, Japan’s Yuto Totsuka delivered an outstanding performance, clinching gold in the initial round of the snowboarding halfpipe World Cup at the Secret Garden resort in China.
Japanese snowboarder Yuto Totsuka beams after his victory in the men’s halfpipe at the World Cup season opener at China’s Secret Garden resort in Zhangjiakou on Dec. 8, 2024. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
Yuto Totsuka competes during the opening round of the halfpipe World Cup in Zhangjiakou, China, on Dec. 8, 2024. (Kyodo)
The 23-year-old executed a remarkable triple cork 1440 that contributed to his winning score of 95.50 at the Beijing Winter Olympic site in Zhangjiakou, where Japanese competitors claimed five of the top six spots in the highly competitive men’s field.
Australia’s Scotty James earned silver with a score of 88.25, while 18-year-old Ryusei Yamada secured the bronze with 87.75.
Defending Olympic champion Ayumu Hirano finished in fourth place, followed by last season’s overall World Cup champion Ruka Hirano in fifth, and Shuichiro Shigeno in sixth.
Mitsuki Ono from Japan, the reigning overall champion, finished fourth in the women’s category, which was won by Maddie Mastro from the United States.
This World Cup opener signals the beginning of the qualifying rounds for the 2026 Milan-Cortina d’Ampezzo Winter Olympics.
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