Taiga Hasegawa Takes First Place In Snowboard Big Air At 2023 Fis World Cup Finals In Kreischberg

The snowboard Big Air World Cup season just ended with a bang! Monster Energy congratulates team rider Taiga Hasegawa on taking first place in Men’s Snowboard Big Air at the FIS World Cup in Kreischberg, Austria, this Saturday. In the final event of the 2022/2023 World Cup season sanctioned by the International Ski Federation (FIS), the 17-year-old from Aichi, Japan, soared above the competition to claim a dominant victory at the top of an all-Japanese podium.

Also putting on a strong performance this weekend, 21-year-old Zoi Sadowski-Synnott from Wanaka, New Zealand, took second place in the highly contested Women’s Snowboard Big Air final. The Kiwi ripper was joined on the podium by 18-year-old Kokomo Murase, from Gifu, Japan, rising all the way to third place.

From January 13-14, 2023, the legendary Kreischberg resort in Austria’s Styria region hosted the world elite of Snowboard Big Air for a final showdown. As the site of the 2015 FIS Snowboard, Freestyle & Freeski World Championships, Kreischberg has been hosting Big Air World Cup events since 2001. Although Europe had been facing difficult snow conditions this winter, local organizers once again delivered a world-class Big Air course for the best athletes to send their best aerials.

With live crowds fully back in attendance at the mountain resort, Saturday night’s FIS Snowboard Big Air World Cup Final was contested under the floodlights in a high-energy festival atmosphere. And with FIS Crystal Globe trophies on the line, the level of riding was off the charts!

In the Men’s Snowboard Big Air final, Japanese teen sensation Taiga Hasegawa put the rest of the elite field on notice straight out of the gate. On his first attempt, the 17-year-old stomped a perfectly executed Cab 1800 mute grab – spinning five rotations in the air – for an early lead at 94.25 points. Keeping the next-level tricks coming, Hasegawa followed up by sending a clean frontside 1800 Indy for 91.75 points.

Commanding a massive lead at 186.00 that held all the way until final attempts, Hasegawa took his final run as a victory lap. Boosting a stylish frontside 360 nosebone over the jump, Hasegawa was celebrated by the crowd as the winner of the 2023 FIS Big Air World Cup in Kreischberg as part of a Japanese podium sweep.

“I’m super happy! Thank you so much, everyone,” said Monster Energy’s Hasegawa upon winning the 2023 Kreischberg Big Air World Cup.

Hasegawa’s rise to the top has been a long time coming: Previously, the Team Japan Snowboarder won the 2020/2021 World Junior Snowboarding Championship in Big Air. At age 15, he made history as the world’s first rider to land 1800 rotations all four ways. Watch out for this kid!

In the Women’s Snowboard Big Air final, Monster Energy’s Sadowski-Synnott dropped in as a podium favorite after bringing home Olympic gold (Slopestyle) and silver (Big Air) at the Beijing 2022 Winter Games. As the session got underway, Sadowski-Synnott soon found herself revisiting her rivalry with hometown hero Anna Gasser.

After striking out on her first attempt of three, Sadowski-Synnott had to show nerves of steel and consistency on follow-up attempts. Not holding back in the least, she regained her momentum by posting a perfect technical switch backside 1260 mute grab for 97.5 points, the highest women’s score of the weekend.

As final attempts rolled around, Gasser commanded the lead, with Sadowski-Synnott among the few raiders to pose a threat. Sadowski-Synnott finished her night by sending a backside 1080 mute grab across the gap, scoring 76.00 points for a total score of 176.5 points and second place behind Gasser in first.

End of story? Not so fast! Monster Energy’s Murase also overcame a low score on the first jump to rise all the way to the podium. On her second attempt, the 18-year-old Olympic bronze medalist threw down a technical backside 1260 nosegrab for 90.25 points. She followed up with a frontside 1080 truck driver for 84.25 points on the third jump, bringing her total score to 174.5 points for third place in Kreischberg.

In the overall 2022/23 FIS Snowboard Big Air World Cup standings, Murase finished in second place overall with 182.00 points, closely behind fellow Japanese rider Reira Iwabuchi as the season’s Crystal Globe winner with 192.00 points.

Also rising to the challenge, Monster Energy’s Mia Brookes from the United Kingdom stoked the crowd with a never-been-done move. After putting down a perfect backside 900 Indy on attempt two for 70.75 points, the teenage snowboard phenom saved the best for run three: Hitting the jump riding backward, Brookes finessed a perfect Cab 1260 stalefish grab for 95.00 points and was celebrated by the crowd and her peers in her fifth-place finish at 165.75 points.