After two days of nail-biting and pressure-filled qualifying rounds, the Toyota U.S. Grand Prix and Visa Big Air snowboard and freeski competitions gave way to the first day of finals on Friday, Dec. 15, at Copper Mountain Resort.

With several large waves of skiers and riders loading onto the Copper shuttles to enjoy a day filled with turns under bluebird skies, men and women snowboarders hucked themselves off Copper’s 70-foot big air jump located a few paces from the entrance of Center Village.

Men’s snowboard big air finals 

Among the group of snowboarders flying high above the steady flow of guests arriving to Copper was Summit’s own Red Gerard. He qualified to the 10-man final on Wednesday after successfully stomping his final run of the day to secure the fifth qualifying spot out of Heat 1.

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Heading into the final on Friday morning, Gerard not only looked forward to performing in front of friends and family, but also hoped to finish on the podium at his second consecutive world cup competition of the 2023-24 season.

Gerard began the three-run-format final on a strong note. Being the first to drop in, Gerard landed a switch backside 1620 with a Weddle grab. Gerard earned a respectable first-run score of 77.25, but it was not enough to match the first runs of the final full of heavyweights.

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Needing to match scores in the 90s from Norway’s Marcus Kleveland and the Netherlands’ Sam Vermaat, Gerard went huge on his second run, landing a backside 1800 with a melon grab. Gerard impressed the judges with his second run, earning a score of 91 to combine for a two-run score of 168.25.

The run from Gerard held up well against the rest of the competition, sitting in third place to begin the final round of runs.

Following a great run by Switzerland’s Nicolas Huber, Gerard got bumped to fourth, needing a firm answer to regain a spot on the podium. Gerard cleanly landed his third trick of the contest, putting down a switch backside 1620 with a Weddle grab.

The run boosted Gerard’s combined score to 169.25 to return to the podium, which held through the remaining competitors. For the second competition in a row, Gerard placed third overall in big air.

“I am so excited,” Gerard said. “I have never really taken myself as a big air rider, so to get two back-to-back thirds is a win for me. I am really excited to do that, and it is such a blessing to do it in front of a home crowd.”

Japan’s Hiroaki Kunitake placed first (181.25), and Vermaat took second (169.50).

Women’s snowboard big air finals

The women’s big air final featured a total of two Americans in the eight-women final, including 2022 Winter Olympics big air silver medalist Julia Marino and two-time Olympian Hailey Langland.

Marino started things off for the U.S. squad, soaring off the jump, but falling on the landing when trying to bring around a front 1080. Langland followed Marino a few riders later and was the first athlete to successfully land a trick in the competition. 

Langland landed a switch frontside cab 900 with a Weddle grab which earned a score of 69.75.

After the first round of runs, Langland sat a spot off the podium while Marino sat in sixth place. 

Marino would fail to land her second run, meaning she was eliminated from a podium spot. Langland on the other hand, landed her second consecutive run, executing on a front side 900 slob air. The run earned Langland a score of 69.50, combining for a total top-two-run score of 139.25.

In a history-making jump, Japan’s Kokomo Murase landed the first-ever backside 1440 in a women’s big air snowboard competition. The jump brought Murase’s score to 197, all but solidifying first place for the talented, 19-year-old rider. 

Langland sat in fourth place going into her final run and tried to find a trick that could boost her into a podium finish. Langland rotated slowly in the air, but came up a bit short on getting the trick around. 

Langland placed fourth overall with a score of 139.25.

Murase was crowned the champion of the competition, maintaining her score of 197 while Japan’s Mari Fukada placed second (174) and Great Britain’s Mia Brookes took third (155.75).

Women’s freeski halfpipe finals

Competition continued in the afternoon with finals in freeski halfpipe. The women started off the action with Basalt’s Hanna Faulhaber, Winter Park’s Svea Irving and Oak Creek’s Riley Jacobs making up nearly half of the eight-women final.

Jacobs was the first Colorado female athlete to drop into the pipe, linking together a run that featured a right side 900, left side 720 and a left side 540 Japan. Jacobs earned a score of 81.25 on her first of three runs. 

Irving followed Jacobs down the pipe but fell on one of her first two hits. Faulhaber put a technical run together on her first run, landing a left side cork 900, a flare and a left side 720. 

The run scored a 84.25, putting Faulhaber in fourth place after the first round, with Jacobs occupying fifth and Irving in seventh.

Jacobs did not improve her score on her second run, but Irving bumped her score to a 79.75, getting redemption on her first run.

Sitting in fourth, Faulhaber went bigger on her second run, going high on her first hit of the wall before ending the run with a 1080, which sent the crowd into a frenzy. The run improved Faulhaber’s score to 92 to trail China’s Eileen Gu with a score of 94.75.

Despite already securing a medal, Faulhaber continued to rocket out of the pipe trying to jump ahead of Gu. Faulhaber landed identical tricks to her second run but did not improve her score. Following a fall from Great Britain’s Zoe Atikin, Faulhaber was officially awarded her second silver medal of the season.

“It feels great to have two back-to-back comps where I placed second,” Faulhaber, 19, said. “I am always going to be chasing down that first place, but Eileen skied absolutely amazing — and so did all the other girls. It is just so fun to be out here and have family and friends out here that I haven’t seen in a while.”

Atkin took third (91), Jacobs placed sixth (81.25) and Irving followed in seventh (79.75).

“It is going to be really nice to have a little break — to just be able to relax and hang out with the family,” Faulhaber said of the break from competing for the holidays. “X Games is next, so that will be super fun.”

Men’s freeski halfpipe finals  

Colorado’s talent continued to be showcased in the men’s freeski halfpipe finals, with four athletes hailing from Colorado and the U.S. having seven athletes present in the 10-man final. 

Winter Park’s Birk Irving was the first Coloradoan to get things going in the pipe for the men, executing a run that featured back-to-back dub 1260s.

The run earned Irving a score of 84, which stood in second place until 15-year-old Luke Harrold of New Zealand, Hunter Hess of Bend, Oregon and Alex Ferreira of Aspen bumped him down.

Ferreira showed why he is a two-time Olympic Winter Games medalist. Coming off a gold medal from the Secret Garden in China last week, Ferreira made two 1620s look effortless, sailing high above the spectators lining the top of the pipe.

After swinging his poles wildly in celebration, Ferreira earned a score of 97, leading the field after the first round of runs. 

Hess and Ferreira tried to separate themselves from the rest of the field on their second runs. Hess improved his score from 93.25 to 95 before Ferreira attempted to outdo his first run but fell on the last hit of the superpipe while trying to bring around a 1620. Despite the fall, Ferreira continued to lead into the final round of runs, with Hess in second, Indiana’s Nicholas Goepper in third and Irving in fifth.

Irving was hungry to improve on his final run, though. After having two mediocrely scored runs, Irving unloaded the tank on his final run. With a score of 92.50, Irving pushed into third place, pushing Goepper from the podium.

Following several other competitors, Irving successfully secured bronze while Ferreira skied away with the gold medal.

“It is a little different from last year,” Ferreira said. “I got fourth last year, so to come out on top this year is unbelievable. I have been working so hard, and to see all of that hard work unfold in front of your eyes is the most beautiful thing in the world to me. I am so, so grateful.”

Hess placed second overall to complete the U.S. sweep of the podium while Goepper and Wise finished in fourth and fifth, respectively.

“Our field runs so deep,” Ferreira said of the U.S. freeski team. “Everybody works so hard. I feel like the United States are definitely pioneers in the sport of halfpipe skiing. To be around these guys and girls is one of the most beautiful things I could ever ask for.”

Boulder’s Dylan Ladd placed eighth (82.5) and Crested Butte’s Aaron Blunck took 10th (72).

The Toyota U.S. Grand Prix and Visa Big Air will conclude on Saturday, Dec. 16, with finals in men’s and women’s freeski big air and snowboard halfpipe. For a detailed schedule of events, visit USSkiAndSnowboard.com.

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