Perlmutter powers through Rail event to secure third Junior World podium

U.S. snowboarder Jessica Perlmutter won the women’s Rail event at the FIS Park and Pipe Junior World Championships in Calgary to claim her third podium this week.

The 16-year-old rider topped the women’s final at WinSport Canada Olympic Park on Friday with a score of 44.13, seven points clear of runner-up Katja Dutu (NED), while Germany’s Marie Kuhlmann was third on 36.63.

Perlmutter’s victory on Friday comes after she opened her Junior World Championships campaign with two third-place finishes in Big Air and Slopestyle.

Before competing at the Junior World Championships, the U.S. teenager also finished sixth in Slopestyle while making her Olympic Winter Games debut at the Milano Cortina 2026 Games.

Perlmutter made her World Cup debut in the 2025/26 season and finished seventh in Slopestyle in her second start at the U.S. Grand Prix in Aspen.

For Dutu, her second-place finish on Friday is her fourth career Rail podium place. The 17-year-old was also runner-up at the European Cup in Davos (SUI) in February, and won the European Cup in Den Haag (NED) and Antwerpen (BEL) in 2025.

Kuhlmann’s third place on Friday comes after the 15-year-old narrowly missed out on a Big Air podium on Wednesday with fourth place.

The men’s Rail event on Saturday 7 March will be the last day of competition at the FIS Park and Pipe Junior World Championships.