Japan returns to top of Halfpipe podium at Aspen World Cup
Jan 10, 2026·Snowboard Park & Pipe)
Japanese riders dominated the Halfpipe World Cup in Aspen (USA) on Friday, with Mitsuki Ono topping the women’s field while Yuto Totsuka won the men’s final to secure his third podium of the 2025/26 season.
In a testament to the strength of the Japanese Halfpipe team, women’s runner-up Madeline Schaffrick (USA) was the only athlete in the women’s top six at Aspen’s Buttermilk resort on Friday who did not represent Japan. Men’s runner-up Shuichiro Shigeno (JPN) was one of four Japanese riders in the top six.
Friday’s results also marked the return of Japanese snowboarders to the men’s podium after the nation’s top Halfpipe athletes did not contest the Calgary World Cup, which ended a record 30-event streak of a Japanese rider within the men’s top-three that began in December 2018.
Ono posted the highest score of Friday’s finals with 91.00 for her first attempt after stomping a run that began with a frontside 900 tailgrab, then a backside 540 mute, a frontside 720 truck driver, a cab 900 stalefish, then a switch backside 540 mute in her fifth and final hit.
Schaffrick looked intent on overtaking Ono’s score in her second run but the U.S. rider’s first run score of 82.75 remained her best performance of the day.
Japan’s Sena Tomita finished third on 80.75, followed by teammates Rise Kudo, Sorana Ohashi and Ruki Tomita in fourth, fifth and sixth place respectively.
Last week’s Calgary winner Elizabeth Hosking (CAN) was seventh.
Ono’s win is the 21-year-old’s first World Cup victory in two years after she topped the Calgary World Cup in February 2024.
“It’s been two years, so I’m just really happy. I still cannot believe (it),” she said.
The 21-year-old now has seven World Cup victories to her name for a total of 13 top-three World Cup results since she made her tour debut in 2019.
Tomita’s third-place result is her second podium of the season after she was runner-up in Copper just before the Christmas break.
With less than 30 days until the start of the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in February, Japan’s performance on Friday puts it on a strong trajectory for medal success in Italy.
“I think it’s a really good team, so I’m really happy to be on this team and it’s a good environment for me,” said Ono.
For 31-year-old Schaffrick, Friday’s result is her second World Cup podium after she was third at Secret Garden (CHN) in December 2024.
In the men’s final, Totsuka claimed victory after posting a first run score of 90.50 that teammate Shigeno almost matched with his runner-up score of 90.00.
U.S. teenager Alessandro Barbieri was third on 89.25, while Australia’s Valentino Guseli finished fourth on Friday after winning the Calgary World Cup in the new year.
Totsuka’s high score came courtesy of a run that began with a switch backside 1260 mute, then a cab double 1440 drunk driver, a frontside 1260 tailgrab, a backside 1260 mute, and finally a frontside double 1440 indy on the last hit.
The win is the 24-year-old’s third podium finish this season after Totsuka was runner-up in a Japanese podium sweep at the season opener in Secret Garden in December, and again in Copper just before the Christmas break.
Runner-up Shigeno’s performance is his third World Cup podium after he previously finished third in Calgary twice in 2023 and 2024.
For 17-year-old Barbieri, Friday’s third place is the second time he has finished within the top-three after securing his maiden World Cup podium in Calgary in 2025 – also in third place, and also behind Totsuka who was runner-up.
Last season’s Crystal Globe winner Ruka Hirano was fifth on Friday ahead of teammate Ryusei Yamada in sixth.
After four events, Totsuka leads the men’s World Cup standings on 260 points. In the women’s standings, teenager Gaon Choi (KOR) still leads the field with 200 points thanks to back-to-back victories at Secret Garden and Copper. Choi did not compete in Aspen or the previous World Cup in Calgary.
The fifth Halfpipe World Cup of the season – and the last event before the Milano Cortina 2026 Games – will begin on 15 January in Laax (SUI).
)
)
