Taiga Hasegawa Claims Win in Big Air Chur
18-Year-Old Japanese Snowboarder from Iwakura Takes 1st Place in Official FIS Big Air World Cup
CHUR, Switzerland – October 20, 2024 – Big win to start the Big Air season! Monster Energy congratulates team rider Taiga Hasegawa on capturing first place in Men’s Snowboard Big Air at the FIS World Cup in Chur, Switzerland. In the first competition of the 2024/25 Big Air season, the 18-year-old from Iwakura, Japan, soared above the rest of the field in Saturday’s final.
Also rising to the podium, 18-year-old Monster Army rider Rocco Jamieson from Wānaka, New Zealand, took second place in Men’s Snowboard Big Air and landed a trick never performed in competition before.
From October 18-19, the Big Air Chur snow sports competition brought the world’s best snow sports athletes to the Oberen Au mountain region in Switzerland. The official FIS Freeski & Snowboard World Cup, sanctioned by the World Ski Federation (FIS), marked the season opener in the Big Air discipline.
The iconic snow sports festival featured 85 competing riders, including Olympic champions, World Champions and World Cup crystal globe winners. Fans also experienced musical performances headlined by Bonez MC and Paul Kalkbrenner.
In Saturday night’s final in a party atmosphere, Hasegawa competed as the reigning 2023 FIS World Champion in the Big Air discipline. Cheered on by the live crowd, the Japanese snowboard prodigy kicked off the session with a massive Cab backside 1800 Weddle grab for 87.50 points on his first attempt. On his third and final attempt, Hasegawa sealed his victory by spinning a frontside 1800 frontside grab – rotating five times in the air – for 89.75 points and the win with a total score of 177.25 points.
On the strength of his victory in Chur, Hasegawa started his FIS Snowboard Big Air World Cup season with 1000.00 ranking points on the leaderboard.
Hasegawa was joined on the podium by Jamieson. After earning a strong score of 83.00 points for a switch backside 1620 Japan on Run 1, the young upstart unveiled a trick never landed in competition before: A technical ‘Rubix Flip’ – scored as a back roll switch backside Rodeo – earned 80.50 points for a total score of 163.50 points and second place.
After securing his career-first World Cup podium finish, Jamieson now holds 828.60 points in the 2024/25 FIS Snowboard Big Air World Cup rankings.
Make sure to tune in when the FIS Snowboard World Cup season continues in Beijing on November 29-30!
