For Jan Scherrer it is the first podium finish in the prestigious World Cup at Crap Sogn Gion after three 4th places.(Archive picture: Keystone)
Switzerland
Jan Scherrer confirms his top form at the Laax Open. The 27-year-old from St. Gallen jumps to second place among the assembled world elite.
Jan Scherrer confirms his top form at the Laax Open. The 27-year-old from St. Gallen jumps into second place among the assembled world elite, ahead of third-placed US star Shaun White and beaten only by Japanese Ayumu Hirano.
Scherrer, currently the best Swiss halfpipe -Flying artists, did not disappoint the record number of 10,000 freestyle crowds who marched under the floodlights at the Crap Sogn Gion. Although he missed the last jump in the first round, he showed strong nerves in the second. The almost perfect run with a proven alley-oop 900 with nose grab, a trick of the highest difficulty class, led him to the long-awaited Laax podium.
For Scherrer it is the first podium in the prestigious World Cup in Laax after three 4th places. “Finally, finally, finally it worked,” said Scherrer happily. «I had my problems throughout the week and never really got along with the pipe. But today everything was fine. I’ve never felt as good at the start as I did this time.»
Pat Burgener, the second Swiss halfpipe finalist, finished sixth. It is also an excellent result for the 27-year-old from Valais. After a violent fall in training the day before, in which Burgener also hit his head, there was a question mark over his participation in the final in only his third competition after tearing the cruciate ligament almost a year ago.
Shaun White is recommended for Beijing
Behind the Swiss high-flyer Scherrer, the living snowboard legend recommended himself Shaun White in the strong US team with emphasis on a fifth Olympic selection. With 84.00 points, the 35-year-old three-time Olympic champion from California jumped onto the podium in third place.
Meanwhile, White is no longer pushing the boundaries in the halfpipe every four years with new flying heights and even more upward rotation . The Japanese, who were becoming more and more dominant and appearing in greater numbers, were already showing triple somersaults paired with lateral rotation. In the last World Cup contest before the Olympics, however, only Ayumu Hirano of the Japanese team managed to run through the pipe without a blunder. The 23-year-old won in Laax for the third time after 2013 and 2016.
Chloe Kim wins for the fourth time
As expected, the American Chloe Kim set the bar for women. The 21-year-old Olympic champion from 2018 and two-time world champion, who lived in Valais for two years as a teenager, won for the fourth time after 2017, 2019 and 2021. She prevailed over Mitsuki Ono from Japan and Queralt Castellet from Spain. None of the Swiss women qualified for the final of the top eight.
Regarding the selection of the Olympic freestyle snowboarders, a decision at Swiss-Ski is still pending. How many quota places Switzerland will be entitled to depends on whether the other nations use up their quota or not. Three and two starting places respectively in the halfpipe and in the men’s slopestyle and one place in the women’s slopestyle are secured.
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