World’s best on hand for snowboard halfpipe season opener in Secret Garden

Dec 05, 2024·Snowboard Park & Pipe

Halfpipe training at Secret Garden resort in China © Buchholz / @fisparkandpipe

The world’s best halfpipe snowboarders are ramping up their Olympic campaign in the first halfpipe event of the 2024/25 FIS World Cup season at China’s Secret Garden resort.

A field of 64 snowboarders featuring a slew of Olympic and X Games medallists will take to the iconic Secret Garden halfpipe on Friday when qualifications begin at 9:10 China Standard Time (CST) with the men’s heats, followed by the women’s qualification round at 12:50 CST.

Among the star-studded men’s lineup is six-time X Games winner Scotty James (AUS) and Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games champion Ayumu Hirano (JPN).

Hirano and James are just two standout names among the men’s field of 37 snowboarders hoping to put their FIS points towards one of the 24 men’s halfpipe spots available at the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games.

Hirano returns to the Beijing 2022 venue where he finally claimed Olympic gold after finishing as the silver medallist at the Sochi 2014 and PyeongChang 2018 Games.

Last season proved to be an unpredictable one for Hirano, who finished at the bottom of the top 10 in two of the three World Cup events he contested. However, a resounding win in Copper Mountain where Hirano finished 11 points ahead of his closest rival showed he is still nearly unbeatable when he is on top of his game.

At Secret Garden last year it was James claiming victory in his return to the Olympic venue after claiming silver behind Hirano at Beijing 2022. With some new tricks rumoured to be in his arsenal this season, James will be looking for a repeat performance this weekend.

With his sixth X Games win in January, James now equals American snowboard legend Shaun White’s record of three consecutive X Games gold medals.

For the once all-powerful U.S. snowboard squad, the future is looking bright with 16-year-old Alessandro Barbieri (USA) on the rise after claiming silver at the Gangwon 2024 Youth Olympic Winter Games last season. Lucas Foster and Joey Okesson are a couple of the other names to watch out from the U.S. side.

Aside from Beijing 2022 Olympic champion Ayumu Hirano, Japan also has high hopes in Ruka Hirano - of no relation to Ayumu - who has two back-to-back halfpipe crystal globes from 2023 and 2024.

The 22-year-old has shown consistency is key on the World Cup circuit, amassing 16 podiums in 22 starts and taking the overall 2023/24 halfpipe season with four podium finishes.

Countryman Yuto Totsuka, 23, leads the men’s field in terms of World Cup podiums, with a total of 18 compared to 16 by Ruka and 15 by James.

Japanese hopes for the women’s competition are also high, with back-to-back reigning crystal globe winner Mitsuki Ono one of four Japanese women in a field of 27.

With nine podiums in her last nine World Cup starts - including six victories - Ono has proven herself the most consistent top-three threat in the women’s field over the past two seasons.

After sitting out last season’s Secret Garden competition due to injury, and missing the podium in her two previous starts here at the 2019 World Cup and the Beijing 2022 Olympics, count on Ono to finally earn a piece of the Secret Garden podium this weekend.

The U.S. squad will be led by 23-year-old Maddie Mastro, who finished third here in Secret Garden last season to lead off a 2023/24 campaign in which she would finish second on the overall halfpipe rankings.

Also to watch out for on the U.S. side is 17-year-old Bea Kim, who had four fourth-place finishes in five starts last season while also snagging the first podium of her young career with a second-place finish at the Laax Open in January.

Meanwhile, 31-year-old Cai Xuetong (CHN) remains the most decorated FIS World Cup snowboarder of all time with 31 podiums, including 14 victories. The four-time Olympian and reigning World Champion also has 10 Park & Pipe crystal globes to her name. Last season’s Secret Garden competition was the only World Cup start for Cai in 2023/24 and she took the home-soil W. She’ll be looking to repeat this feat for Chinese fans this weekend.

One final rider of note is Canada’s Elizabeth Hosking, who returns to FIS competition for the first time since the Bakuriani 2023 World Championships where she took silver behind Cai. Hosking missed all of 2023/24 due to injury.

The top eight women from qualifications and the top five men from each heat will progress to the finals, slated to begin at 10:00 CST on Sunday.

SNOWBOARD HALFPIPE FACTS & FIGURES

Cai Xuetong (CHN) has amassed 31 World Cup podiums since 2009, including 14 victories.
Retired snowboarder Tricia Byrnes (USA) holds the record for most World Cup victories with 15.
Yuto Totsuka (JPN) has 18 World Cup podiums, including seven wins.
Scotty James (AUS) has won nine World Cup events and has a total of 15 podiums.