WHISTLER, British Columbia — Frigid temperatures didn't stop Sweden's Magnus Sterner from getting hot in the halfpipe.
Sterner went big, fast and smooth on his way to a World Cup snowboard victory Sunday, vaulting himself atop the halfpipe standings on the young season.
Norway's Stine B. Kjeldaas won the women's side after throwing down 720- and 540-degree spins. She retained the yellow jersey as the top-ranked woman.
The event drew some of the best halfpipe riders in the world, except the usually strong Americans who competed in another meet Sunday.
"I tried to do my best," Sterner shrugged after posting a 43.9 score from the five judges. His best included two inverted 720-degree spins, one of which he landed riding fakie or backward along with assorted board grabs way above the lip of Whistler's superpipe.
Two high-flying Japanese riders, Daisuke Murakami and Takahura Nakai, finished second and third, scoring 40.4 and 38.9, respectively.
Japanese women also took second and third. Michiyo Hashimoto scored 39.8, while Nagako Mori received 34.9.
Swedish and Japanese riders dominated the 10-man and six-woman finals fields. They'll likely be among the teams to watch in anticipation of the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City.
Sterner, though, says it's too early to think about the Olympics.
"You can't concentrate on that now. If you do, you won't come there. You have to concentrate on the moment," he said.
This is the year, however, that snowboard teams start positioning themselves to earn as many Olympic spots as possible, which are based on World Cup standings. Individual riders will begin qualifying for their national teams next season.
Only one American man and no American women competed the halfpipe at Whistler. Eighteen-year-old Eric Warren, making his World Cup debut, did not make the finals and finished 37th.
American freestylers spent Sunday at a Vans Triple Crown meet in Breckenridge, Colo., where they swept the top four places in both men's and women's halfpipe. Tricia Byrnes led the women and Todd Richards paced the men.
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