Japan's Mari Fukada wins gold in women's slopestyle
Japan's Mari Fukada won gold in the women's snowboard slopestyle event at the Milano Cortina Olympics on Wednesday.
Her gold medal is Japan's fifth of the 2026 Games, matching the country's best result at a Winter Olympics, set at the 1998 Nagano Olympics. It's also the fourth gold of these Games for Japan's powerhouse snowboarding team.
Zoi Sadowski Synnott, the 2022 champion, took silver for New Zealand, while Fukada's compatriot Kokomo Murase won bronze. Murase, who claimed gold in big air on Feb. 9, topped the leaderboard after the first slopestyle run in the Alpine town of Livigno.
Fukada overtook her in the second, however, and then improved on her score by earning an 87.83 on the final effort. It was the first Olympic medal for the 19-year-old Fukada.
Sadowski Synnott, a legend in the world of snowboarding, was in danger of missing the podium. She was in fourth place when she stood at the top of the course as the day's final rider. The 24-year-old mastered her final run with a score of 87.48, earning a silver, the fifth Olympic medal of her career.
Mari Fukada pumps her fist after her third run of the women's slopestyle final at the Milano Cortina Olympics on Wednesday at Livigno Snow Park.
| REUTERS
In slopestyle, riders navigate rails and other obstacles and perform aerial tricks to impress the judges with difficulty and originality. The best score from three runs determines the winner.
Ally Hickman of Australia, on her second run, missed a landing and fell face forward onto the icy course. She lay on her back for several minutes before standing up and walking off the course. The 16-year-old returned but fell backward on a jump.
Earlier on Wednesday, Su Yiming of China won gold in the men's slopestyle on his birthday.
Organizers delayed the slopestyle finals by one day because of a snowstorm.
