“Let’s go!” Ferreira claims men's Calgary win while Gu goes two-for-two
Jan 22, 2023·Freeski Park & Pipe
It was a little warmer and a bit breezier in the Calgary halfpipe on Saturday as the 2023 Snow Rodeo came to an end after the second of two World Cup events in three days – but the women’s podium had an all-too-familiar feel.
Eileen Gu (CHN) isn’t so much in a different league as on another planet, clinching her second halfpipe victory in as many outings since her competitive return, stomping three runs with three scores in the 90s while nobody else could manage even one.
The men’s halfpipe event – and World Cup crystal globe battle – is shaping up to be a much more open, with Alex Ferreira (USA) putting the disappointment of just missing out on a top-3 on Thursday behind him by claiming the victory with a devastating middle run.
GU LOOKS UNBEATABLE HEADING INTO X GAMES
Despite a solid start from Thursday’s bronze medallist Hanna Faulhaber (USA), a stylish first run from the consistent Karker and smooth opener from China’s Kexin Zhang – keen to make up for missing the podium on Thursday – Gu was a class apart.
She began with an right side 900 buick grab - a grab variation that none of the other women in the field can boast - and finished things off with a left alley-oop 540 mute, and all of it was near-flawless, as we've come to expect from the 19-year-old.
With only half the skiers able to put down a clean second run in increasingly challenging conditions, the Stanford freshman seemed to be competing against only herself. She switched things up, starting with a right 900 Buick, followed by a left 900 Japan, right 720 opposite tail and switch left 360 Japan, finishing with an alley-oop flatspin 540 to increase her lead and set up yet another victory lap with a score of 93.50.
Knowing they would have to produce something special to overhaul Gu, Karker and Zhang both fell as they tried to push the limits on their final run, having to settle for second and third respectively. With the pressure off, Gu still managed to end with 91.75, punching the air as she made it two from two in Calgary to move within 60 points of Karker in the World Cup standings.
Karker's first and best run scored 85.50 and included a right 900 Japan, left 900 Japan, right flair safety, left 720 safety and switch left 540 safety. Zhang put down a right 720 tail, switch left 540 Japan, switch right 360 mule, left 720 and switch right 540 tail to score 81.75.
Execution issues from the otherwise impressive Amy Fraser cost her a chance of gatecrashing the podium party, while Svea Irving – younger sister of men’s star Birk – finished fifth.
Wishing everyone Happy Chinese New Year in Mandarin before switching to English, Gu said: “Tonight the crowd here, just the energy, is amazing. Feeling really good on my skis and getting back into it. I won my first halfpipe World Cup here three years ago so nice little full-circle moment for me.
“It feels good. It definitely builds confidence, teaches me about those adrenaline up and downs that I've been missing out on for the last 11 months.
"I’m heading straight to X Games tomorrow and world championships after that, so the season’s not over yet, just starting.”
FERREIRA REVS IT UP TO TOP STELLAR FIELD
The men’s event got off to an explosive start with Noah Bowman (CAN) crashing landing a 1440. Dropping in fourth, Ferreira took an early lead with the first clean run, closely followed by 16-year-old New Zealander Finley Melville Ives who caught the eye with a double cork 1260.
Thursday’s winner Jon Sallinen (FIN) and ever-grinning halfpipe legend David Wise (USA) both delivered early clean runs, but were gazumped by Birk Irving (USA), who landed a rarely seen forward double 1080 to take the lead on 91.00.
Simon D’Artois qualified in first place but an untidy landing on his final trick meant his eye-catching run was only good enough for third.
Ferreira then laid down the gauntlet in his second run with big doubles and clean grabs, giving the intense American a huge 94.50. “Let’s go!” he shouted from the finish after his run, and go he did – to the top of the leaderboard.
His run comprised a switch left 1080 tail, huge right double 1620 safety, left 1080 tail, switch right 1080 Japan and left double 1260 safety.
With many of the men faltering trying to land huge first tricks, could Irving up the ante? Indeed he could, but not quite enough to overhaul his compatriot – scoring 93.00 with the following tricks: switch left 1080 tail, switch right 720 Japan, left double 1260 Japan, right double 1260 Japan and left double 720 safety.
D’Artois couldn’t improve on his first run despite opening with a soaring, crowd-pleasing air to fakey.
And he was soon pushed out of the top-3 altogether as Bowman finally landed the troublesome 1440 at the start of his final run, ending on a switch left double 1080 safety to put down his only clean set. His score of 90.50 also included a switch left 900 mule and switch left double 900 safety.
From then on, it was all down to fine margins. A scruffy landing on his penultimate trick cost Sallinen a shot at a second straight podium while Irving’s hand just touched the snow as he landed his final trick, a double cork 1440, to leave first place just out of reach.
On his second trick, Thursday’s winner Brendan Mackay (CAN) also clipped the ground to leave him outside the medals, while D’Artois had to settle for fourth after failing to land his signature alley-oop double with the final trick of the day.
This left Ferreira, who couldn’t improve his score on the final run after scuffing the landing on his first hit, at the top of a World Cup podium for the fourth time.
“It's really great to be up here in Calgary, you guys have a great venue so thanks for having me. I spun in all four directions, managed to go high, get all my grabs ski cleanly and, you know what, that's what you need to do at the end of the day so I'm super grateful,” the double Olympic medallist said.
“I’ve been knocking on the door at the last two competitions so to get in there and win one is super super electric. I can't wait to going into X Games with a win under my belt and feel very confident."
QUICK LINKS
YouTube LIVESTREAM (with geo restrictions) - THURSDAY / SATURDAY
Calgary Snow Rodeo halfpipe World Cup data page (startlists, livescoring, results)
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