U.S. snowboarder Maddie Mastro and double Olympic champion Chloe Kim lead a U.S. squad who will be hoping that home field advantage can help them dominate the Copper Mountain FIS Snowboard Halfpipe World Cup this week in Colorado.
Mastro and Kim are among 13 U.S. snowboarders competing in a field of 38 women who will battle it out at Copper Mountain, Colorado when qualifications begin on Wednesday at the Toyota U.S. Grand Prix.
Mastro comes to Copper Mountain having won the first halfpipe event of the 2024/25 FIS Snowboard World Cup season at Secret Garden, China earlier in December. The victory marked Mastro’s first World Cup win after 15 previous podium finishes, including third place at Copper Mountain in 2023.
All-time FIS Snowboard Park & Pipe podium record holder Cai Xuetong (CHN) finished second behind Mastro at Secret Garden, extending her career top-3 totals to 32, which includes three previous Copper Mountain podiums.
Meanwhile, the USA’s Maddy Schaffrick nabbed third at Secret Garden, as the 30-year-old returned to the World Cup in triumphant fashion after nearly a decade away from top-level snowboard competition. Boasting a deep and unique bag of tricks, Schaffrick will be hoping to continue her early season momentum on home soil this week.
Last season’s Crystal Globe winner Mitsuki Ono (JPN) narrowly missed the podium at Secret Garden with a fourth place finish and will be looking to return to the top three at Copper Mountain, where she was previously runner-up in 2023.
Seventeen-year-old Bea Kim (USA) was just 16 when she finished fourth at Copper Mountain last year, and will be keen to add to her first World Cup podium in Laax, Switzerland where she finished second in January.
Two-time Olympic halfpipe champion Chloe Kim was not at Secret Garden for the FIS halfpipe season opener but the 24-year-old will begin her World Cup season in Copper Mountain on Wednesday. Kim won back-to-back World Cup events on the Copper Mountain halfpipe in 2016, 2017 and 2018.
Kim has been one of the most efficient winning machines in snowboarding over the course of her career, including 10 victories in 16 career World Cup starts. However, after missing the top-3 in both of her World Cup appearances last season, she’ll be looking to reassert her dominance this week at the venue where she’s had so much success in the past.
Also to keep an eye on in the women’s field are the young Japanese tandem of Sara Shimizu and Rise Kudo, both of whom made their World Cup debuts in Secret Garden, with Shimizu qualifying in top position and Kudo not far back in fourth. While neither of the 15-year-olds reached the Secret Garden podium, both showed they’ve got the chops to land in the top-3 some time in the very near future.
With the qualification period for the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games already underway, the riders will also be focused on putting their FIS points towards the 24 women’s halfpipe spots available.
In the men’s competition, Yuto Totsuka (JPN) and Scotty James (AUS) will drop into the Copper Mountain halfpipe off the back of their first and second-place performances in a groundbreaking showing at Secret Garden earlier this month, where four different riders stomped triple corks over the course of the finals.
Twenty-three-year-old Totsuka continues to lead the men’s field in terms of World Cup podiums, with a total of 19 compared to 16 by James – though James’ nine victories puts him one ahead of his Japanese counterpart in the wins category.
Last season Totsuka finished third at Copper Mountain behind runner-up Chaeun Lee (KOR), while Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games halfpipe champion Ayumu Hirano (JPN) took the win. Hirano will be hoping to make up for his recent fourth-place finish at Secret Garden.
Also among the field of 44 men in Copper Mountain is Japan’s Ryusei Yamada, who finished third at Secret Garden for his first career World Cup podium.
Yamada is among four Japanese snowboarders ranked within the top five of the FIS World Cup men’s halfpipe standings alongside Totsuka, Ayumu Hirano and Ruka Hirano.
Ruka Hirano – of no relation to Ayumu – finished fifth at Secret Garden but the 22-year-old remains a strong contender with two consecutive halfpipe Crystal Globes from 2023 and 2024. Hirano took the overall 2023/24 halfpipe season with four podium finishes and has amassed a total of 16 podiums in 22 World Cup events in his career.
For the host U.S. men’s team, look to the likes of Chase Josey, Lucas Foster and Alessandro Barbieri to make some noise this week in Copper.
Qualifications will begin at 9:30 local time on Wednesday, with the top eight women and top 10 men progressing to the finals on Friday.
Yuto Totsuka (JPN) has 19 World Cup halfpipe podiums, including seven wins.
Scotty James (AUS) has won nine World Cup halfpipe events and has a total of 16 podiums.
Cai Xuetong (CHN) has amassed 32 World Cup halfpipe podiums since 2009, including 14 victories.
Copper Mountain halfpipe World Cup data page (start lists, live scoring, results)
2024/25 FIS Snowboard Park & Pipe season calendar
Photos
Highlight videos
