Silverthorne’s Chris Corning qualifies to Beijing World Cup big air final
Finals scheduled for 9:30 p.m. mountain time Friday
FRISCO — Two-time reigning FIS Crystal Globe Snowboard World Cup season champion Chris Corning of Silverthorne continues to churn out top results at World Cup competitions, ranking second on the list of qualifiers Thursday at the Air + Style Beijing FIS Snowboard World Cup event in China.
Corning earned a combined score of 169.50 with scores of 84.50 and 85.00 on his first two runs. The only other American to qualify for Friday’s final round was Sean Fitzsimons, who earned a score of 153.75 with scores of 80.50 and 73.25 on his second and third runs.
Corning and Fitzsimons will be joined in Friday’s final (Saturday evening Beijing time) by Thursday’s top qualifier, Swedish star Sven Thorgren (180.50). Other qualifiers included Matthew Cox of Australia (168.00), Ruki Tobita of Japan (167.25), Darcy Sharpe of Canada (163.25), Ryoma Kimata (161.75), Kalle Jarvilehto of Finland (161.25), Canadian star Max Parrot (161.00) and Nicolas Huber of Switzerland (155.75).
On the girls side, American slopestyle and big air legend Jamie Anderson of California qualified through to finals with a score of 162.75, which ranked her third. Julia Marino of Connecticut will join her in the final after earning a score of 155.25. Japan’s Kokomo Murase was the top qualifier with a score of 173.00.
The competition is taking place at the new Shougang Park permanent big air ramp on the western outskirts of China’s capital city. Snowboarders in China have been talking up the park as one of the most aesthetically interesting big air venues in the sport’s history.
The venue is in a spot that formerly was an industrial park on Beijing’s fringes but is now being transformed into a center for sports and culture ahead of the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games. The big air jump snowboarders are competing on this week also will host Olympic competition come 2022. Effectively, this week’s competition is a test run for the Olympics.
The competition is also a warmup for the one-of-a-kind big air event that will take place Dec. 20-21 at the Atlanta Braves’ SunTrust Park baseball stadium. Corning figures to be the top American competitor to take on the world in Atlanta, where a 15-story scaffolding jump will reside in the middle of the ballpark. Summit County locals such as 2018 Pyeongchang silver medalist Kyle Mack, 2018 Olympic slopestyle gold medalist Red Gerard and 16-year-old slopestyle phenom Jake Canter are scheduled to compete, as well, among others.
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