Aspen Snowboard World Cup: Halfpipe Stats Preview

Last week in Calgary (CAN), Valentino Guseli (AUS) recorded his second career World Cup victory. His first career World Cup triumph also came in Calgary in February 2024.

The two previous Halfpipe World Cup events held in Aspen were won by Japanese men: Yuto Totsuka (JPN) in 2021 and Ruka Hirano (JPN) in 2025. Last season Ayumu Hirano (JPN) and Ryusei Yamada (JPN) completed a Japanese podium sweep at the venue in second and third place respectively.

Yuto Totsuka (JPN) surpassed Ross Powers (USA) as the snowboarder with the most Halfpipe World Cup podium finishes with his second place in Secret Garden (CHN). Totsuka now has 23 podium finishes in Halfpipe events, while Powers has 21. Ruka Hirano (JPN) is now tied with Powers on 21 podiums following his third-place finish in Secret Garden.

Japanese men failed to reach the podium in Calgary last week, which ended their podium streak of 30 halfpipe events with a top-3 result.

David Habluetzel (SUI) finished second in Calgary (CAN) to record the first World Cup podium finish of his career. It marked the first European podium finish in this event since a second-place finish by Jan Scherrer (SUI) in December 2022.

The last time a European man to triumph at a Halfpipe World Cup was Jan Scherrer (SUI) who won in Secret Garden (CHN) in December 2018. Since then, the subsequent 30 World Cup events have been won by either a Japanese athlete (20 times) or an Australian athlete (10 times).

Alessandro Barbieri’s (USA) third-place finish in Calgary (CAN) last season is the only podium result by an American man in this discipline in almost three years. The last rider from the USA to win a Halfpipe World Cup event was Shaun White (USA), whose last career victory came at Buttermilk’s sister resort Snowmass (USA) in January 2018.

Patrick Burgener (BRA) secured Brazil’s first podium finish in a FIS Snowboard Park & Pipe World Cup event with his third place in Calgary. Burgener will not compete in Aspen.

Halfpipe standings leader Gaon Choi (KOR) won the first two events of the 2025/26 season but did not compete in Calgary (CAN) and will compete in Aspen.

Elizabeth Hosking (CAN) recorded her first career Halfpipe World Cup victory in Calgary last week. She is the first Canadian woman to record a World Cup win in this event since Maelle Ricker (CAN) triumphed in Valle Nevado (CHI) in September 2002.

Elizabeth Hosking (CAN) has recorded four World Cup podiums in her career, all on North American snow: second in Copper Mountain in 2022/23; second in 2022/23, third in 2024/25 and first in 2025/26 in Calgary. Her best result in Aspen was fifth place in 2020/21.

Wu Shaotong (CHN) recorded her second career World Cup podium finish in Calgary last week as runner-up. She has reached the final in each of the past nine Halfpipe World Cup events she has contested.

Sena Tomita (JPN) is looking for her first Halfpipe World Cup win since her maiden World Cup triumph in Calgary last season. She finished 23rd in Secret Garden (CHN) and second in Copper (USA) this season.

Isabelle Loetscher’s (SUI) third-place result in Calgary last week marked her first career World Cup finish. The last time a Swiss woman triumphed in this discipline was Manuela Laura Pesko’s (SUI)  in Valmalenco (ITA) in 2007/08 – the last event of her career.

The last European snowboarder to claim a Halfpipe World Cup victory was Queralt Castellet (ESP), in Copper (USA) in December 2022. Castellet will not compete in Aspen.

The two previous Halfpipe World Cup events in Aspen were won by Chloe Kim (USA) in 2020/21 and 2024/25. Kim will not compete in Aspen this week.