<div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The USA’s <strong>Maddie Mastro</strong> finally nabbed the first FIS Snowboard World Cup win of her career while Japan’s <strong>Yuto Totsuka</strong> took the men’s field to new triple cork levels in the halfpipe World Cup season opener at China’s Secret Garden on Sunday.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Twenty-four-year-old Mastro said the victory on Sunday was particularly sweet after previously finishing within the top three of 15 World Cup events.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“I’ve gotten a lot of seconds and a lot of thirds at these World Cups, and this is my first one on top. And my God, am I happy about it,” said Mastro.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The U.S. rider outperformed local star and four-time Olympian <strong>Cai Xuetong </strong>(CHN), who claimed second place with 86.25, while fellow American <strong>Maddy Schaffrick</strong> finished third with a score 85.25 in her return to competition after nearly 10 years away from top-level snowboarding.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The field of eight women in Sunday’s final featured three riders from the USA and three from Japan, including last season’s crystal globe winner <strong>Mitsuki Ono</strong> who narrowly missed the podium with fourth place.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“This contest I think has really set a new baseline for women’s snowboarding and it’s really exciting and also really scary because that means I have to keep stepping myself up,” said Mastro.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“But it’s exciting to be a part of it and all the girls here are absolutely riding so well.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">For the men’s competition it should come as no surprise that <strong>Yuto Totsuka</strong>, 23, was able to open the 2024/25 FIS Snowboard World Cup halfpipe season with a win given he already led the men’s field in terms of World Cup podiums.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">However, the way that Totsuka claimed what was his eighth World Cup victory should be remembered for a long time, as he put together what was perhaps the most technically advanced top-to-bottom in World Cup history.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Leading things off with a switch backside double 1260 Weddle, Totsuka then went cab double 1440 Weddle, frontside double 1260 frontside grab, backside double 1260 Weddle, before finishing things off with a massive frontside triple 1440 frontside grab in the last few metres of the Secret Garden pipe. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">With the win, Totsuka now has a total of 19 top-3s, compared to 16 by <strong>Ruka Hirano</strong> (JPN) and 16 by <strong>Scotty James</strong> (AUS). The 30-year-old Australian took second place behind Totsuka with 88.25, compared to the Japanese rider’s high score of 95.50.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Ryusei Yamada </strong>(JPN) finished third on 87.75 for his first career World Cup podium, beating out countryman and Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games champion <strong>Ayumu Hirano </strong>in fourth place.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Like Totsuka, James also debuted a new trick in Secret Garden, dropping a switch frontside triple cork 1440 on the second hit of his third and final run. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">With Totsuka, James and <strong>Chaeun Lee </strong>(KOR) all debuting triple corks in World Cup competition, and Hirano stomping his signature frontside triple 1440, four different riders put down halfpipe’s pinnacle trick in one final for the first time in snowboard history.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“It’s a crazy level,” said Totsuka.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The next halfpipe event of the 2024/25 FIS Snowboard World Cup season is scheduled for 18-20 December at Copper Mountain, USA.</div>