Second men’s halfpipe podium sweep of the season for Japan, Chloe Kim wins again in Aspen

Feb 01, 2025·Snowboard Park & Pipe

Ruka Hirano (JPN) and Chloe Kim (USA) celebrate their halfpipe victories at the U.S. Grand Prix in Aspen. Photo: @fisparkandpipe

Japanese snowboarders delivered a phenomenal podium sweep in the men’s halfpipe at the U.S. Grand Prix in Aspen, while the USA’s Chloe Kim claimed another World Cup victory in the same pipe where she won X Games gold last weekend.

Kim took an early lead in the women’s final on Saturday with a first run score of 91.75 thanks to an unbeatable performance featuring a backside 720, a switch method, a cab double 1080 stalefish, a frontside 900 tailgrab, and a backside 900 Weddle.

Trailing Kim on 88.75 was her protege Gaon Choi (KOR), with the 16-year-old claiming her second podium of the 2024/25 FIS Snowboard World Cup season and her third career podium out of just four World Cup starts.

Fifteen-year-old Sara Shimizu of Japan finished third on 85.25 points, her second top-three finish of the season after claiming victory in Copper (USA) in December. Only slightly outdone by Choi, Shimizu now has two podiums in four World Cup starts in what is her rookie season on the big tour.

For Kim, Saturday’s victory is her latest achievement after she won her eighth X Games gold medal, also in Aspen, on 25 January. The 24-year-old also won the most recent halfpipe World Cup, the Laax Open, in January.

The two-time Olympic Winter Games halfpipe champion said everyone in Saturday's field performed well despite flat light leading to challenging conditions in the pipe.

(The conditions are) kind of hard, really. You have to rely on muscle memory at this point. It’s really hard to see, so things start to feel a bit different, the snow starts to change a bit, so you kind of just have to go with the flow and see what happens.– Chloe Kim (USA)

“I was kind of bummed the sun got tucked away but the ladies were killing it and I’m glad that I was able to keep up," she said.

Kim had already secured victory when she dropped into her third and final run determined to show the home crowd what else she was capable of, but crashed midway through.

“I was trying to mix it up for you guys at the end there and I couldn’t pull it off. Next time.”

Fellow U.S. rider Maddie Mastro finished just outside the podium with a fourth place score of 84.00, despite landing what may have been the first-ever switch alley-oop backside rodeo 540 by a woman in competition.

In the men’s final, the third and final runs were a truly technical display of tricks from the top five finishers, with a podium sweep by Japanese riders following performances that impressed judges and pushed their closest rivals to up their game.

Japan’s Ruka Hirano ultimately claimed victory ahead of Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games halfpipe champion Ayumu Hirano, who momentarily took the lead with a third run score of 89.50 before Ruka responded with a run which earned him 93.25 points.

The 22-year-old’s winning run featured a switch backside double 1080 Japan, a backside double 1260 Weddle, followed by a frontside double 1440 indy, a switch frontside triple 1440 truck driver, then a frontside double 1260 indy.

Ryusei Yamada held the lead through much of the final after a heavy first run in challenging conditions that earned him a 88.25, but the 18-year-old ultimately had to settle for third place and his second career World Cup podium. Yuto Totsuka took fourth place on 87.50.

Saturday’s Japanese podium sweep is the second of the season after Copper, in which Ayumu claimed the top spot ahead of runner-up Totsuka and third-placed Ruka.

Australia’s Scotty James, who claimed X Games gold in Aspen last week, finished fifth on Saturday after a thrilling third run 85.75 effort. While James’ trick selection was as exceptional as ever, some sketchy edging between hits likely cost him a spot in the top-three.

A two-time reigning halfpipe Crystal Globe winner, Ruka’s win is his first World Cup victory since 2023 and his sixth career win since 2020. It also follows his consistent performances throughout the 2024/25 FIS Snowboard World Cup season where he finished fifth in Secret Garden (CHN), then third at Copper, and second at the Laax Open in January.

Ayumu’s second place is his third podium of the season after he finished third at Laax behind Ruka after topping the field at Copper in December.

Yamada’s third place marks a return to the podium after finishing third at Secret Garden in December.

With four out of five halfpipe World Cup events now completed, Ayumu Hirano leads the men’s discipline standings on 290 points, while Ruka has 285 points in second place.

In the women’s discipline standings, Kim is currently ranked second behind Maddie Mastro, who has 270 points compared to Kim’s 250 points.

The fifth and final halfpipe event of the 2024/25 season will take place in Calgary (CAN) between 19 and 22 February.