Chinese halfpipe star Eileen Gu has topped the all-time FIS Freeski World Cup wins leaderboard once again, winning Saturday’s Copper Mountain halfpipe competition for her 17th career victory, while the USA’s Alex Ferreira added a 10th victory to his World Cup record.
Twenty-one-year-old Gu took an early lead in the women’s final on Saturday with a first run score of 90.50 which runner-up Zoe Atkin (GBR) came close to matching with a third run score of 89.75. Canada’s Cassie Sharpe took third place with 89.00 points, with the 1.5 points difference between first and third one of the most closely contested halfpipe World Cup competitions in recent memory.
Gu’s winning run featured her signature right 900 Buick on the first hit, followed by a left 900 Japan, right 720 lead tail, switch left 360 Japan, alley-oop left flat 540 mute, and an alley-oop 360 lead tail.
With something of a safety run by her own lofty standards in the books, Gu was pushing for more in both her second run and her third run victory lap. However, that victory lap nearly ended in disaster as Gu landed deep in the pipe while attempting a final hit right alley-oop flat 540, crashing heavily.
Medical teams on site briefly attended to Gu and after taking a moment to collect herself at the bottom of the pipe, Gu was able to walk out under her own power and enjoy her record-setting victory with Atkin and Sharpe in the finish area.
The 21-year-old said the level of competition in Saturday’s final had pushed everyone in the women’s field.
Sharpe is Gu’s closest rival in terms of halfpipe victories, with 10 World Cup wins compared to Gu’s 14 halfpipe victories.
Saturday’s win is Gu’s third consecutive victory of the season and puts the 21-year-old ahead of France’s Tess Ledeux atop the all-time FIS Freeski World Cup wins leaderboard. The two women were previously tied with 16 victories apiece. Gu now leads the women’s overall World Cup standings.
On the men’s side, the USA’s Alex Ferreira took the lead with a second run score of 94.75, which was also the highest score awarded by the judges across men’s and women’s qualifications and finals.
Ferreira’s winning run featured a switch right double 1080 Japan, left 1620 safety, right 1080 lead tail, switch left 1080 tail, and a right 1620 blunt, with that final trick marking the first time the right 16 has been landed with a capped tail grab in competition.
In second place behind Ferreira was Canada’s Brendan Mackay with a second run score of 91.25 points for his second podium of the season after winning in Cardrona. Ferreira’s U.S. teammate Nick Goepper took third place with 89.25 points, slipping from his previous first place finish at Secret Garden, China earlier in December.
Last season Ferreira claimed last season’s halfpipe and overall Freeski Crystal Globes after winning every competition on the halfpipe season calendar. The 30-year-old is also a bronze medallist from the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games and a PyeongChang 2018 silver medallist.
With two second place finishes at the halfpipe season opener in Cardrona (NZL) and in Secret Garden (CHN), and Saturday’s victory in Copper Mountain, Ferreira now leads the men’s overall World Cup standings.
With seven of the 10 men’s finalists representing the USA, and a U.S. podium sweep at Secret Garden featuring Goepper in first place followed by Ferreira then David Wise in third – the odds were in favour of U.S. skiers filling Saturday’s podium.
Ferreira’s victory makes him the first man in World Cup history with 10 halfpipe wins and is Ferreira’s 18th overall podium finish. Wise, who finished fifth on Saturday, still leads the all-time podium leaderboard with 19.
“I’m the happiest guy in the world. More to come, definitely more to come,” Ferreira said.
The FIS Freeski World Cup will resume in Aspen on 30 January 2025 with slopestyle and halfpipe.
Copper halfpipe World Cup full results
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World Cup standings
