Japan swept the women’s and men’s snowboard Big Air titles Saturday (13 December) at the FIS Snowboard World Cup in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, as Onitsuka Miyabi and Ogiwara Hiroto struck gold.
Onitsuka won a close contest in the women’s event, beating out the Republic of Korea’s Yu Seung-eun 174.00 to 173.25. Australia’s Ally Hickman finished third with 162.25 points.
In the first and second runs, Onitsuka ranked second — first behind Hickman and then behind Yu in the second. But in the third and final run, Onitsuka landed a Cab double cork 1260 with a mute grab to score 91.00, the highest mark of the women’s event.
The win is her first of the 2025/26 season after she took the bronze medal two weeks ago at the World Cup in Secret Garden. Her last win came six years ago at the 2019 World Cup stop in Beijing.
The men’s competition was also a close affair, with Ogiwara beating out teammate Kimura Kira by just 1.00. The final standings were Ogiwara 180.25, Kimura 179.25, and Oliver Martin of the United States third with 174.00.
Ogiwara’s win Saturday was a come-from-behind affair after he earned just 35.25 points in his opening run, leaving him fifth after round one.
He began his climb in run two, scoring an 85.50 to give himself a chance at the podium with a spectacular third attempt.
That’s exactly what Ogiwara delivered. He scored 94.75 points on his final run, landing a backside 1980 with a truck-driver grab.
With the victory, Ogiwara now has three career wins on the global circuit — one in each of the last three seasons.
AloJapan.com