Dhawornvej follows up Olympic experience with Junior World title as Watanabe announces arrival

U.S. teenager Lily Dhawornvej has followed up her Olympic Winter Games debut with an emphatic Slopestyle victory at the FIS Park and Pipe Junior World Championships in Calgary (CAN) on Saturday.

On the men’s side of things, 14-year-old Watanabe Hiromu (JPN) announced his arrival on the world stage after topping the field with the highest score of the day.

Sixteen-year-old Dhawornvej was the first rider to claim victory on Saturday after posting a second-run score of 83.75 at the legendary WinSport Canada Olympic Park.

Japan’s Suzuka Ishimoto was runner-up on 80.00, followed by U.S. rider Jessica Perlmutter in third place on 77.00.

Dhawornvej was the top qualifier going into Saturday’s final but was unable to put down a clean run in her first attempt.

It was a different story in her second run as Dhawornvej started her second attempt with a clean rail section before landing a cab 900 on the first jump, followed by a frontside 720 Indy and a back 720 melon.

Dhawornvej’s victory in Calgary comes just weeks after she and Perlmutter marked their Olympic debut at the Milano Cortina 2026 Games by beating a stacked field to qualify for the women’s Slopestyle final in Livigno.

Perlmutter finished sixth in Livigno, while Dhawornvej was 11th.

Dhawornvej’s win on Saturday also marks her second podium of the season after the 16-year-old finished second at the Laax Open in January, one spot ahead of two-time Olympic Big Air champion Anna Gasser (AUT).

Ishimoto’s performance on Saturday comes one year after she topped the 2025 Asian Cup on home snow in Hakuba (JPN). The 16-year-old was also a Big Air bronze medallist at the Harbin 2025 Asian Winter Games.

In the men’s final on Saturday, 14-year-old Hiromu Watanabe (JPN) claimed victory after the judges awarded him 93.25 for his technically impressive second run.

After scoring just 17.00 in his first run, Watanabe followed up with a  clean top-to-bottom second run featuring a cab 270, a switch back double 1260, a backside 1440, and frontside 1080 in his third and final jump.

Colin Frans (USA) was second on 89.25 after the 16-year-old set an early benchmark with his first-run score before Watanabe leapfrogged the U.S. rider with his last attempt.

Dmytro Luchkin (UKR) was third behind Frans after posting a second-run score of 84.50.

Fourteen-year-old Watanabe’s victory on Saturday comes almost a year to the day he finished third at the 2025 Asian Cup behind compatriots Kira Kimura and Yuto Kimura in first and second place respectively. Kira Kimura went on to become the Olympic Big Air champion at Milano Cortina 2026.

Halfpipe will be the next snowboard discipline to kick off competition at the FIS Park and Pipe Junior World Championships, with qualifications on Monday 2 March followed by finals on Thursday 5 March.

Big Air qualifications begin on Tuesday 3 March, followed by finals on Wednesday 4 March. The Rail competition will take place on Friday 6 March after it was rescheduled to begin a day earlier.

QUICK LINKS

FIS Park and Pipe Junior World Championships results