Precious halfpipe points and FIS World Cup record up for grabs at Secret Garden
Dec 04, 2024·Freeski Park & Pipe)
Chinese skier Eileen Gu is set to return to the top of the all-time FIS Freeski World Cup win standings as the 2024/25 World Cup season resumes this week at Secret Garden for the second halfpipe event of the calendar.
Gu is among 61 skiers who will compete at China’s Secret Garden resort on Thursday as they battle it out for a spot in the finals on Saturday.
On the men’s side, two-time Olympic medallist Alex Ferreira (USA) is also looking to return to the top spot after taking second-place honours at the halfpipe World Cup season opener in Cardrona, New Zealand in September.
Gu topped the women’s competition at that event, while Canada's Brendan Mackay took first place in an impressive return to form after taking off the first half of last winter.
As last season’s halfpipe and Freeski overall crystal globe winner, Ferreira remains the man to beat when competition at Secret Garden opens on Thursday with the men’s qualification heats at 9:10 China Standard Time (CST).
Thirty-year-old Ferreira won all five halfpipe World Cup events last season, and carried on his winning form to win the X Games for a third time this year.
Other contenders in the men’s field of 43 skiers include Andrew Longino (CAN) – who finished third in Cardrona – and 30-year-old Nick Goepper (USA). The American came out of retirement from slopestyle and big air last season and has his sights set on qualifying for the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games.
Among the up and comers capable of surprising the halfpipe establishment at Secret Garden is 18-year-old Finley Melville-Ives (NZL). The Kiwi secured silver at the Gangwon 2024 Youth Olympic Winter Games and has narrowly finished outside the top five at various World Cup events since 2022.
At just 16, New Zealander Luke Harrold returns to Secret Garden as the runner-up from last year’s edition, where he finished just 1.75 points behind Ferreira.
The women’s qualification round is scheduled to begin at 13:10 CST on Thursday with Canadian Amy Fraser the first skier to drop into the Secret Garden halfpipe.
Fraser claimed second place overall behind crystal globe winner Gu last season, who leads the women’s halfpipe field as the reigning Olympic halfpipe and X Games champion. Twenty-one-year-old Gu became the first freeski athlete to win three medals in a single Olympics when the then 18-year-won the halfpipe and big air events and took silver in slopestyle at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games.
Until last week, Gu and French skier Tess Ledeux were tied for the most FIS Freeski World Cup wins of all time, with 15 each.
Ledeux then overtook Gu with a record 16th career win at the iconic Shougang Park big air jump on 1 December.
Other skiers to watch in the women’s field of 18 skiers are Beijing 2022 halfpipe silver medallist Cassie Sharpe (CAN) and fellow Canadian Rachael Karker, who took bronze at Beijing 2022.
Great Britain’s Zoe Atkin finished ninth at Beijing 2022, but the 21-year-old’s World Cup record includes seven top-three finishes since 2019.
HALFPIPE FACTS & FIGURES
Rachael Karker (CAN) has amassed 15 halfpipe World Cup podium finishes, including two wins.
Eileen Gu (CHN) has won 12 halfpipe World Cup events since 2020 for a total of 14 halfpipe podium finishes.
Gu is the all-time leader for halfpipe wins across men’s and women’s competition.
Alex Ferreira (USA) has nine halfpipe World Cup victories out of 16 podiums.
QUICK LINKS
Secret Garden Halfpipe World Cup data page (start lists, livescoring, results)
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