LAAX, Switzerland, Jan 19 (Kyodo/APP): Japanese snowboarder Kokomo Murase overcame challenging weather conditions to win her first World Cup slopestyle title of the season Sunday at the Laax Open in Switzerland.
Following a delay caused by high winds, a dominant Murase scored 77.55 points as she ran away with the women’s title ahead of second-place Lily Dhawornvej of the United States on 71.18, with Austria’s Anna Gasser rounding out the podium on 69.70.
The 21-year-old Murase took her career World Cup gold medal tally to eight, including big air competitions, in her last event on the circuit before next month’s Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics.
“I’m very happy that I was able to win, even though the wind made it difficult to go fast. It gives me confidence,” said Murase, the 2022 Beijing Winter Games big air bronze medalist.
“I finished my last World Cup before the Olympics with a win, so I want to be able to show my strength at the Olympics as well.”
Japan’s Mari Fukada and Reira Iwabuchi finished seventh and 10th, respectively.
In the men’s slopestyle, Japan’s Yuto Kimura, who topped qualifying for the final, scored 81.95 points to finish second, his best World Cup result, behind France’s Romain Allemand with 86.70.
Japan’s Olympics-bound Ryoma Kimata placed fifth and Kira Kimura was eighth.