Corning Makes History at Visa Big Air

Chris Corning made history Friday night at the Visa Big Air presented by Land Rover at SunTrust Park in Atlanta, Ga. Not only did he win the first-ever internationally sanctioned ski and snowboard event in the southeast, but he also landed the first-ever quad cork 1800 on a scaffold big air jump. 

“I feel great right now and I’m very happy to be alive after that,” Chris said jokingly. “It’s always scary trying it because I really don’t ever do it in practice or anything like that. I have to get pumped up to do that trick and let go of anything I’m thinking about. Also, it’s really cool to go to a place I have never been and take in the atmosphere. It was great to see how many people showed up and feel that support.”

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

@chriscorning just became the first athlete ever to land a quad cork on a scaffold jump and is our Visa Big Air Presented by Land Rover champion! 🤯🥇

A post shared by U.S. Snowboard Team (@ussnowboardteam) on Dec 20, 2019 at 6:39pm PST

Coming into the third and final run, Chris was in second place behind Canada’s Nicholas Laframboise, who was right on Corning’s tail in the FIS World Cup big air standings in second. With Friday’s competition representing the final World Cup big air of the season, there was a lot riding on the last jump of the night. Chris swept the pressure aside and cemented himself in the snowboard history books, securing the victory, the Visa Best Trick award, and the FIS World Cup Big Air Crystal Globe. Remarkably, this is the seventh Crystal Globe of his career. 

U.S. Snowboard Team member Judd Henkes landed a backside triple cork 1620 on his third and final run to move into a respectable fourth place and locked down the only other trick to score in the 90’s throughout the night outside of Chris. The Atlanta crowd absolutely erupted in approval. Also, teammate Sean FitzSimons landed a pair of triple corks to solidify fifth place. The men’s U.S. Snowboard Team put on an incredible performance in a heated World Cup final. 

Nicolas finished in second place at the event and in the overall World Cup standings. Japan’s Ryoma Kimata finished third. 

For the women, U.S. Snowboard Team member and Olympian Julia Marino finished just outside of the podium. She certainly put on a show for the Atlanta fans, landing a cab double underflip to kick off the night on her first run. Although Jamie Andreson qualified through to finals, she elected not to compete after taking a fall during training. 

Japanese riders Reira Iwabuchi and Kokomo Murase finished first and second respectively, while Canada’s Brooke Voigt rounded out the podium in third. 

Competition will continue at SunTrust Park Saturday with men and women’s freeski qualifications, followed by the finals. Join us at SunTrust Park or tune in on NBCSN at 7 p.m. EST to catch the action live. 

RESULTS
Women’s snowboard big air
Men’s snowboard big air

FINAL CUP STANDINGS
Women’s snowboard big air
Men’s snowboard big air

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST

SNOWBOARD
Saturday, Dec. 21
3:00 p.m. - Visa Big Air Presented by Land Rover - NBC**

FREESKI
Saturday, Dec. 21
7:00 p.m. - Visa Big Air Presented by Land Rover, Atlanta - NBCSN, NBCSports.com, NBC Sports Gold

Sunday, Dec. 22
3:00 p.m. - Visa Big Air Presented by Land Rover, Atlanta - NBC*

*Same-day broadcast
**Next-day broadcast

Note: All televised events to stream across NBCSports.com, NBC Sports app, OlympicChannel.com, and Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA app

Exclusive commercial-free coverage will be available for subscribers of the NBC Sports Gold Pass, available here: https://www.nbcsports.com/gold/snow.