It was a rollercoaster of flips and spins on Friday, December 19, 2025, at Copper Mountain, where the Chinese mainland's snowboard star Cai Xuetong came agonizingly close to the podium at the FIS Snowboard Halfpipe World Cup. Despite a tidy first run worth 71.75 points that placed her second after the opening round, fate had other plans. ❄️🏂
Going second in the final, Cai looked in top form, but her second run unraveled from the third trick onward. Judges ruled it a non-improvement, leaving her with just the opening mark and a fourth-place finish — just off the podium. Talk about a nail-biter! 😱
Teammate Wu Shaotong faced an uphill battle too. After a rough opening run that scored 15.25, her second attempt couldn’t turn things around, and she ended the day eighth.
The gold went to the Republic of Korea’s 17-year-old phenom Choi Gaon, who crushed the field with a flawless second run worth 94.50 — the only rider to break the 90-point barrier. Japan’s Sena Tomita landed silver on 88.75, while U.S. youngster Bea Kim claimed bronze with 75.52.
Halfpipe is all about high stakes and split-second execution, and this showdown was a perfect example. Cai and Wu will be back on the slopes soon, hungry to turn these near-misses into podium finishes. Stay tuned! 🔥
Reference(s):
cgtn.com
