After a third-place finish in the 2015 U.S. Park City Grand Prix men’s ski slopestyle competition Friday, Gus Kenworthy returned to the podium, upgrading from bronze to gold as he took the win in the men’s ski halfpipe Saturday afternoon.
Kenworthy set the tone early on in the contest, starting third and scoring a 92.2, the only rider in the best-of-three run format to score in the nineties in round one. Kenworthy continued to improve his score, with his second run allowing him to cruise to the top of the podium.
“It feels so great to be able to return to the podium in the pipe and remind myself and others that I can be a contender in both slope and pipe,” said Kenworthy. “It’s been a little while since I have had a strong pipe finish, and today I put down the best run I have ever done in the pipe. The level of riding today was absurd! The pipe was in pristine condition, and I couldn’t be more stoked to be here and to get the win.”
Kevin Rolland (FRA) came the closest to contend with Kenworthy’s high scores in the contest, but could not put together a complete run until his third and final run, scoring a 93.0 and taking the silver.
“I was pleased with myself and being able to do my tricks the best I have all year,” said Rolland. “Today was a good day of competition, and I am happy to be on the podium.”
2014 U.S. Park City Grand Prix champion and Sochi Winter Olympic gold medalist David Wise finished out the podium in third.
“I feel honored to be a part of this sport right now,” said Wise. “It is a really cool time to be a skier.”
With his third-place finish, Wise remained in the lead for the World Cup title and was named the overall U.S. Grand Prix men’s halfpipe champion, as well as overall U.S. national men’s halfpipe champion for the 2014-15 season.
“Coming into this season, I wanted to accomplish new things and raise the bar for myself with my level of skiing that was not all based on wins,” said Wise. “I wanted to add new tricks and new runs to my skill set, and today I was able to land that new run. Park City Mountain Resort feels like home to me. I have spent so much time here through the years, and the resort has always been amazingly supportive of me and the U.S. freeski team as a whole, so to compete here feels like a hometown contest.”
In the women’s ski halfpipe competition, top qualifier and defending champion Maddie Bowman unexpectedly pulled out of the contest. With her absence, the door was open for a new champion, and Ayana Onozuka (JPN) stepped through that door and claimed the gold.
Finishing off the international podium of women halfpipe skiers was Sabrina Cakmakli (GER) and Janina Kuzma (NZL).