Bon's Big Day: FitzSimons Third in Aspen
Snowboard action at the Toyota U.S. Grand Prix wrapped up Sunday morning with slopestyle finals and six members of the Hydro Flask U.S. Snowboard Team were set to drop. Sean FitzSimons secured his second podium of his career.
Warmer temperatures and a bit of cloud cover set the scene over Aspen’s Buttermilk Park and the athletes took advantage of the early morning weather window and put on a show for the Colorado crowd.
Hydro Flask U.S. Snowboard Team rookie athletes held it down on the women’s side of competition, with 15 year old Lily Dhawornvej making her first domestic slopestyle finals appearance and Hahna Norman earning her first World Cup career final. Although neither Dhawornvej or Norman were able to land a full pull clean, the two young guns proved they belong on the World Cup stage and are true threats to make the Olympic roster in the upcoming cycle.
The men’s side of competition saw four Hydro Flask U.S. Snowboard Team members in the mix. 2022 Olympian FitzSimons put down two clean runs to qualify into finals and was looking to continue his competition full pull streak in Sunday’s competition. Sitting in third place after a solid first run, FitzSimons, better known as "Bon" by his teammates, looked to best his score of 73.76 and hold his place on the podium. Dropping in for the final time in Aspen, FitzSimons kicked things off with a solid rail section into a switch backside 16 melon, backside triple cork 14 weddle and a frontside triple cork 14 weddle, saluting to the Colorado crowd hyping him up in the stands as he slashed into the finish area. FitzSimons was forced to sit through a grueling 11 more runs from riders who are all threats to the podium before he was able to claim third place on the day and secure the second World Cup podium of his career.
"It felt really good to put four for four down and even better to earn a spot on the podium,” said an emotional FitzSimons after the awards ceremony. “If there was an event to podium at this would be the one so I’m psyched to get it done.”
Two-time Olympian Chris Corning, better known as “Captain America” by his teammates, and Jake Canter, straight off a successful big air stint in Austria, took 10th and 11th respectively. Making his first World Cup finals appearance, North Carolinian Fynn Bullock, who doubles as a professional wakeboarder in the off-season, put down a clutch second run, ending with a massive backside 16 nose grab to secure seventh place overall.
The Toyota U.S. Grand Prix at Aspen Snowmass was recently added as a pivotal competition towards qualifying for the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympic Winter Games, making the achievement even more bittersweet for FitzSimons, a Mt. Hood native who spent the last year battling back from a broken pelvis.
“It’s been a long road coming back from injury,” FitzSimons added. “It feels great to be on the box again. So unreal.”
Never forgetting where he came from, FitzSimons added one final remark:
“Shoutout Oregon. I better see that in the article.”
With his third place finish in Aspen, FitzSimons locked up the U.S. national snowboard slopestyle Championship title for the men and rookie Lily Dhawornvej earned the honor for the women.
The Hydro Flask U.S. Snowboard Team has two days of training before Wednesday’s qualifications for the Visa Big Air presented by Toyota. Watch all the action from big air finals live from Buttermilk on Outside TV on Thursday, Feb. 6 at 3:00 p.m. ET.
