<div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Sixteen-year-old U.S. snowboarder <strong>Oliver Martin</strong> outperformed a stacked men’s slopestyle field to claim his first World Cup victory in Calgary, while Japan’s <strong>Mari Fukada</strong> dominated the women’s final.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Martin claimed victory over the 18-man final on Saturday with a first run score of 80.60 on the final day of the Snow Rodeo FIS Slopestyle World Cup at Winsport Calgary Olympic Park.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The U.S. rider’s winning run began with a back 450 boardslide to fakie, then a half cab and back boardslide 270 on the second rail, a back boardslide cork 630 Weddle, followed by a switch back double cork 1260 melon, a back double cork 1440 gorilla, and finally a front double cork 1440 Indy.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Fellow U.S. rider <strong>Red Gerard</strong> was runner-up with a score of 78.63, while Norway’s <strong>Marcus Kleveland</strong> was third on 75.65.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“I’m so unbelievably happy. I just decided to play this one safe and it just worked out so well,” said Martin.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“I’m ecstatic, I couldn't be more happy with how I rode today and how everything ended up.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The teenager admitted it had been difficult getting ready to return to competition after suffering a concussion in January.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“The hardest challenge was just watching everyone do so well,” said Martin.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“I’ve worked so hard to get back. Ready to ride again and I also changed my mindset in that time, tried to play it more competition-safe and just do the right tricks for the right time. It really paid off.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Before Saturday, Martin’s best result thus far in his debut World Cup season was fourth in big air in Aspen on 6 February. At the most recent slopestyle World Cup in Aspen on 2 February, Martin tied for 53rd place out of 56 competitors.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Gerard’s second place on Saturday is his second podium of the season after he was also runner-up at the Laax Open (SUI) in January. Calgary marks the 24-year-old’s ninth World Cup podium in slopestyle, and his 13th overall podium finish across slopestyle and big air.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Kleveland’s third place is his first top-three World Cup result since he claimed victory at the 2023 Laax Open.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Reigning big air World Champion <strong>Taiga Hasegawa</strong> (JPN) finished fourth behind Kleveland on Saturday, while many other experienced riders finished in the bottom half of the 18-man final, including last season’s Crystal Globe winner <strong>Liam Brearley</strong> (CAN) and current slopestyle World Cup standings leader <strong>Cameron Spalding</strong> (CAN). Brearley and Spalding finished 14th and 16th respectively.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Despite his 16th place finish on Saturday, Spalding continues to lead the men’s slopestyle World Cup standings on 230 points, compared to second-place Gerard’s 192 points.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Meanwhile, Hasegawa’s fourth place finish on Saturday helped extend his lead in the overall men’s Park & Pipe standings to 439 points. His closest rival, compatriot <strong>Ruka Hirano</strong>, sits on 385 points after Hirano ended his halfpipe season a day earlier by winning the final halfpipe World Cup contest in Calgary to take the Crystal Globe.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In the women’s final, 18-year-old <strong>Fukada</strong> claimed victory with a second run score of 77.58.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Fukada’s winning run began with a switch front blunt 270, then a half cab and back boardslide pretzel 270 on the second rail, followed by a switchback boardslide 270 on the first kicker, a switch back 900 Weddle on the second kicker, and finally a front 540 stalefish.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">German <strong>Annika Morgan</strong> was runner-up with a first run score of 76.30. Twenty-three-year-old Morgan narrowly missed out on a podium finish in Aspen with fourth place.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Great Britain’s <strong>Mia Brookes</strong> rounded out the podium with 74.08 to claim her second consecutive third place finish after also finishing third in Aspen.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Australian <strong>Tess Coady</strong> finished in fourth place with a score of 68.80 in what was her first World Cup competition since suffering an injury during the 2023/24 season.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Saturday’s third place is Brookes’ fourth slopestyle top-three finish of the season, and her seventh overall podium of the 2024/25 FIS Snowboard World Cup tour across slopestyle and big air.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Of her four slopestyle podiums, Brookes has one outright victory from Laax and a second place finish from the slopestyle season-opener in Cardrona (NZL) in September. With four out of five slopestyle World Cup events now completed, the 18-year-old leads the standings on 300 points.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Brookes also sits atop the overall women’s Park & Pipe standings on 500 points with 14 out of 15 events completed. Trailing Brookes in second place is Fukada on 450 points.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The fifth and final slopestyle competition of the 2024/25 FIS Snowboard World Cup season will take place at Absolut Park Flachauwinkl (AUT) between 13 and 14 March.</div><div><br /></div>