U.S. Sweeps Freeski Halfpipe at Junior World Championships

It was a huge day for the USA as Connor Ladd (Lakewood, Colo.), Hunter Carey (Winter Park, Colo.) and Aaron Durlester (Mammoth, Calif.) swept the halfpipe podium at the FIS Freeski and Snowboard Junior World Championships in Leysin, Switzerland, Saturday.

“Beyond stoked to take the win today and can’t wait for the next event,” said Ladd, who improved upon his sixth-place finish from the 2018 Junior World Championships in Cardrona, New Zealand. “It was a great event and everyone crushed it. Congrats to all the other U.S. athletes that also killed it.”

Carey improved upon his fifth-place result and Durlester from his ninth-place finish at the 2018 World Championships. In the women’s event, Riley Jacobs (Steamboat Springs, Colo.) was the top American in fifth place.

In the snowboard halfpipe finals, Tessa Maud (Carlsbad, Calif.) won the silver medal, her second Junior World Championships silver medal after finishing second in 2018 in New Zealand.

“I was really happy to be out here in Switzerland,” Maud said. “I had the best time competing with everyone and the team. I was pretty pleased with how I ended up. It was a blast!”

In the men’s event, Jack Coyne (Edwards, Colo.) just missed the podium, finishing fourth, but improved on his 13th-place finish from the 2018 World Championships.

RESULTS
Junior men’s freeski halfpipe
Junior women’s freeski halfpipe
Junior men’s snowboard halfpipe
Junior women’s snowboard halfpipe