Maiden World Cup victory for Brown in Calgary as Goepper dominates men’s field
Jan 03, 2026·Freeski Park & Pipe)
Australian teenager Indra Brown secured her maiden Freeski Halfpipe World Cup victory in Calgary on Saturday to claim her third consecutive podium since the 15-year-old made her tour debut in December.
On the men’s side of things, U.S. skier and three-time Olympic Slopestyle medalist Nick Goepper made history as he claimed victory after recording the highest score of the day with 94.80 for his second run to become the oldest men’s Halfpipe World Cup winner of all time.
Brown was the first skier to secure victory on Saturday after the Australian took an early lead with a run one score of 85.20 that no other skier was able to match - despite a strong performance from runner-up Zhang Kexin (CHN), who finished one point behind Brown on 84.20.
U.S. skier Svea Irving was third on 83.20, followed by last season’s Crystal Globe winner Li Fanghui in fourth place.
Brown began her winning run with a left side 900 safety, then a right side cork 900 safety, a left 720 safety, a switch right 540, a switch left 360 mute, and finally a leftside alley-oop 360 Japan on her sixth and final hit.
Saturday’s win is Brown’s third consecutive podium finish after she was runner-up in Copper (USA) before the Christmas break and third in Secret Garden (CHN) earlier in December at her first-ever World Cup start.
With her victory, Brown matched a FIS Freeski World Cup mark set by Jennie-Lee Burmansson (SWE) back in 2017/18, where the then-15-year-old Swede rattled off a second, a first, and a third in her first three World Cup Slopestyle starts.
“I’m really excited and happy to be here, and excited for more,” said Brown.
With Saturday’s win, Brown is now the youngest Australian to claim a World Cup victory at 15 years of age. She is also the only Australian to have secured more than two Freeski Halfpipe World Cup podiums, surpassing Australians Davina Williams and Amy Sheehan who each have two World Cup podiums.
On top of that, Brown claimed the World Cup leader’s bib at the mid-point of the season, with her 240 points putting her 55 clear of Zhang’s tally of 185.
In the men’s final, experience paid off for veteran U.S. skier Nick Goepper after the 31-year-old overtook reigning World Champion Finley Melville Ives’ high score with his run two score of 94.80.
Wearing American flag-patterned trousers, Goepper began his winning second run with a switch left side double cork 1080 Japan, then a right side double cork 1260 safety, a left double cork 1260 mute, a right double cork 1080 safety, and finished with a switch rightside bio 900 tailgrab on the last hit.
Melville Ives looked intent on beating Goepper’s second attempt in his second run, but ultimately the 19-year-old New Zealander did not improve on his first high score, meaning that, at the age of 31 years, nine months, and 20 days, Goepper would overtake his compatriot Alex Ferreira as the oldest men’s halfpipe World Cup winner of all time.
“It was the opposite result last year at this contest between me and Fin, so it’s fun (how) it turned out this year,” said Goepper, referring to Melville Ives’ maiden World Cup win in the 2024/25 edition of the Snow Rodeo, where Goepper was second.
Birk Irving gave the USA its third podium of the day in third place on 89.80 – which was also the Irving family’s second World Cup podium in Calgary after younger sister Svea’s third place in the women’s final.
Goepper’s win has also earned him a coveted spot on the U.S. Olympic ski team as it enters the home stretch of its internal qualification process for the upcoming Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in February.
Milano Cortina 2026 will be Goepper’s fourth Games after he claimed bronze in Slopestyle at his first Olympic Winter Games in 2014 in Sochi, followed by two silver medals at PyeongChang 2018 and Beijing 2022.
Goepper retired from Slopestyle competition in 2023 before making his comeback later that year and reinventing himself as a Halfpipe skier.
Saturday’s win marks Goepper’s second Halfpipe World Cup victory after he won the Secret Garden event in 2024.
The three-time Olympian admitted that competing against his teammates to qualify for Milano Cortina 2026 is tough.
“They make us do this every single time, until the last minute. I’ve got to have a conversation with somebody (laughs), but it definitely gets it all down to the wire,” said Goepper.
“(The U.S. team) likes to pick the person who’s skiing the best right when it counts, right when they’re peaking, and this is kind of how it happened with me the last time round, it was kind of last second.
The next Halfpipe World Cup – and last chance to qualify for Milano Cortina 2026 – will take place in Aspen (USA) between 7-10 January.
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