There were plenty of thrills and spills as the Winter Games returned to New Zealand’s home of freeriding yesterday.
The Remarkables hosted skiers and snowboarders in the North Face Frontier four-star competition.
Up against strong international competitors, New Zealand athletes put together some impressive performances to claim seven of the 12 podium spots.
Fresh snow just covering some rocky conditions beneath made for some gnarly course conditions, the judges warning competitors to err on the side of caution.
Kiwis took a clean sweep of the women’s ski podium, Wanaka freerider Jessie Violet backing up her 2023 win and happy to bag some early-season points before she heads to the northern hemisphere.
First out of the gate in her category, she put down a confident run, skiing fast down the main chute and incorporating some solid airtime on her way to the finish line.
"I’m feeling pretty stoked", Violet said.
"The girls are pushing hard for the podium. The bar gets set and everyone just fights for it — it’s good to see everyone going for it."
Ruby Hewitt, winner of Saturday’s two-star event, was second, earning a high score by incorporating a variety of features in her run and maintaining good control all the way through the course.
Mari Henderson skied one of the fastest runs in the women’s field, the judges rewarding her strong technique with third place on the podium.
Taupo twins Fynn and Lach Powell finished first and third respectively in the men’s ski category, separated by Canadian Matthew Vankka, who won the two-star competition.
Lach Powell landed a huge backflip which initially had him sitting in the hot seat. Brother Fynn was excited to hear that Lach was in the lead, using this as extra motivation for his own run.
"I was so unbelievably stoked when I heard the call over the radio and I had to try and back him up", Fynn, whose winning score was 96.33 points, said.
"I won this event last year, so I’m really stoked to be able to come back and put another run down."
Canadian Jaimie Figueira was the clear winner in the women’s snowboard category, the judges awarding her 90.33 points for her strong line choice, well-controlled airs and fluidity down the steep face.
Johanna Lindqvist (Sweden) was second and Swanny D’Agostini (France) third.
Wellington competitor James Thompson described his win in the men’s snowboard as "a dream come true" after a previous best result of sixth at the Frontier.
Fellow Kiwi Mitchell Davern was second, riding fast through the venue and throwing a huge backflip and a stylish 360 before losing a little bit of control at the bottom of the course and dropping points.
Frenchman Tristan Legru-Yildiz was third in men’s snowboard.
Soft snow conditions on The Hurdle at Coronet Peak prompted the jury to postpone race one of the FIS Australia New Zealand Cup (ANC) Giant Slalom until Thursday, although race two is set to run as scheduled tomorrow (28 August).
