A bold triumph sets the tone for 2025-26 as Olympic champion Hirano Ayumu spearheads a flawless Japanese performance in the Secret Garden halfpipe, kicking off the Snowboard World Cup season with momentum toward Milano Cortina 2026. Ayumu, the reigning Olympic gold medalist in the men’s halfpipe, launched his campaign with a 93.50 on the opening run at Secret Garden on Friday, December 12—the same venue where he celebrated Olympic glory in Beijing 2022. His high score left his fellow Japanese rider Totsuka Yuto trailing, with Yuto posting a best first-run 90.25 to stay within striking distance.
This result marks Hirano’s 22nd podium finish in FIS Snowboard Park & Pipe competition, extending his lead as the most frequent top-three performer in the history of the discipline, surpassing U.S. snowboarder Ross Powers. Meanwhile, reigning World Cup Crystal Globe winner Hirano Ruka, who has claimed the top prize in the season-long series three times in a row, secured third place with an 89.00 on his final run to join his brother on the podium in China.
Australia’s Scotty James, a multiple world champion and decorated Olympic medallist, faced an uncharacteristic setback on the superpipe. He failed to complete five tricks in the first run, managing just four, which yielded a 50.00 and placed him in 10th overall.
In the women’s contest, the podium was swept by two teenagers. 17-year-old Choi Gaon of the Republic of Korea delivered a spectacular second-run effort for a 92.75 and her second World Cup victory, nearly two years after her first triumph. She overtook 16-year-old Japanese rising star Kudo Rise, who had led most of the event after opening with an 88.00 and a standout 90.25 in the previous run.
China’s four-time Olympian Cai Xuetong capped the podium, earning third with an 80.50, marking her 34th World Cup top-three result and bringing a home crowd-pleasing finish.
This week’s World Cup is the opening stop of seven halfpipe events in the 2025-26 Snowboard Park & Pipe World Cup calendar. The tour continues with a freestyle skiing and snowboarding event in Copper Mountain, USA, from December 17 to 19, ahead of the next halfpipe showdown.
