Katie Ormerod and Billy Morgan finished 5th and 6th respectively in this winter’s first Snowboard Slopestyle World Cup, which was staged as part of the Winter Games NZ in Cardrona.
After qualifying directly to the finals with Ormerod taking 2nd in her heat and Morgan 3rd in his heat, tricky snow conditions meant that riders who needed the semi final to qualify were sent straight through to a shortened two run final. Under sunny skies the two GB Park and Pipe riders put in solid performances and were both close to podium spots.
In the women’s competition experienced USA rider Jamie Anderson took the top spot with Miyabi Onitsuka from Japan in second and Zoi Sadwoski Synnott from New Zealand in third. For the men, Norway’s Marcus Kleveland took the win with Darcy Sharpe from Canada in second and Carlos Garcia Knight from New Zealand in third place.
Head Snowboard Coach Hamish McKnight said after the contest: “Both Billy and Katie put in strong performances today and although they perhaps didn’t put down their hardest runs, both are very pleased to be riding at this level at this point in the season.”
For the other GB Park and Pipe riders, Rowan Coultas finished 13th in qualifiers, Matt McCormick was 17th and Jamie Nicholls was 22nd. In the women’s event Aimee Fuller finished 20th in her heat.
You can follow the action of the GB Park and Pipe athletes on social media:
www.facebook.com/GBParkAndPipe
www.Instagram.com/GBParkAndPipe
British Ski and Snowboard is backed by Principal Sponsor Delancey, a specialist real estate investment and advisory company. British athletes are also supported by the British Snowsports Fund (www.bssnf.uk), a scheme which allows ski and snowboard fans to give a small donation to support our elite teams and younger athletes via one of the Fund’s industry partners, for example when buying a holiday or purchasing kit.
For all the information on British Ski and Snowboard visit www.teambss.org.uk.
