Big Air Returns To Beijing’s Iconic Shougang Jump

Beijing and big air are back in the spotlight as the globe’s best skiers return to the world-famous Shougang Park big air jump for the next stop on the 2024/25 FIS Freeski World Cup calendar.

Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games venue Big Air Shougang will on Friday welcome 69 freeskiers for qualifications as they battle it out for a spot in the finals on Sunday.

Swiss sensation Mathilde Gremaud leads the women’s field of 16 skiers and recently nabbed second place in slopestyle at Stubai, Austria last week.

In October the Swiss skier opened the Freeski World Cup season by winning Big Air Chur 2024 in front of a home crowd.

The 24-year-old returns to Beijing having won the 2023 edition and securing Olympic bronze in big air and gold in slopestyle at Beijing 2022.

Her closest rival, Tess Ledeux (FRA), took big air silver ahead of Gremaud at Beijing 2022 and again finished ahead of Gremaud to win the FIS Slopestyle World Cup in Stubai. Last week’s win marks Ledeux’s 15th World Cup victory across slopestyle, big air and halfpipe, a feat she accomplished on her 23rd birthday.

Ledeux’s latest win puts her in a tie with Eileen Gu (CHN) for the most in FIS Freeski history, and with the Gu not competing in this week’s Beijing World Cup, the French skier has a clear chance of taking the outright lead.

Alongside Ledeux and Gremaud is this year’s Big Air Chur runner-up Flora Tabanelli (ITA), who will be looking to shake off a less-than-ideal slopestyle performance in Stubai last week.

Last season the 17-year-old won the big air and slopestyle events at the Gangwon 2024 Youth Olympic Winter Games, while also earning her first career World Cup podium here in Beijing behind Gremaud and Kirsty Muir (GBR).

Meanwhile, local talent Mengting Liu is among five Chinese skiers hoping to use their home advantage to make their mark on the women’s competition. The 20-year-old was runner-up at the final big air World Cup event of the 2023/24 season in Tignes.

Women’s qualifications are set to begin at 11:05 China Standard Time (CST) on Friday, followed by the men’s qualification heats at 13:25 CST.

The field of 53 men includes Beijing 2022 big air champion Birk Ruud (NOR) and Austria’s Matej Svancer. The Austrian already has one World Cup big air victory under his belt this season after winning Big Air Chur 2024 ahead of runner-up Tormod Frostad (NOR).

Alongside his Chur second place finish, Frostad also earned a third in slopestyle at Stubai last week to claim his second consecutive podium of the season and put himself in top spot on the FIS Freeski overall rankings in the early stages of the 2024/25 campaign.

Swiss skier Andri Ragletti took second place ahead of Frostad in Stubai after shaking off his 28th place finish at Big Air Chur in October, giving the 26-year-old his record-extending 32nd podium of his FIS Freeski World Cup career.

Ragettli will look to face down the likes of Canadian Dylan Deschamps, who finished third at Big Air Chur 2024, as well as reigning big air World Champion and X Games big air winner Troy Podmilsak (USA).

Fellow American skier Mac Forehand narrowly missed out on a podium finish in slopestyle in Stubai last week with fourth place, but remains a contender after winning the big air X Games title in 2023 and a slopestyle crystal globe in 2023/24 - his second after topping the overall 2018/19 season as a 17-year-old.

The other half of the Tabanelli brother-sister power duo, Miro, is also another skier to watch. The 20-year-old was last season’s third-overall finisher on the FIS Freeski Big Air World Cup rankings, but has yet to land a top-five result in the current World Cup season.

Competition in qualifications and finals in Beijing will follow a three-jump format, with the combined score of the best two jumps used for the final score. The top eight qualifiers in the women’s qualifications and the top five men from each heat on Friday will advance to Sunday’s finals.

BIG AIR FACTS & FIGURES

• Mathilde Gremaud (SUI) has 13 World Cup podium finishes, including nine victories.
• Birk Ruud (NOR) has amassed 12 World Cup podium finishes, including six wins.
• Alex Hall (USA) has won four World Cup events.
• Andri Ragettli (SUI) has claimed nine World Cup podium finishes, including one win