Halfpipe judging is always suspect, but never more so when an amagingly talented new kid goes up against a well established halfpipe juggernaut like Shaun White. That’s what happened, apparently, in the second run of the 31st Burton US Open Snowboarding Championship at Vail, Colorado on Saturday, March 2, 2013 when just crowed World Snowboard Tour Halfpipe Champion Ayumu Hirano, 14, went up against White in the second run. White ended up 8.18 points ahead of Hirano even though many people agree that Hirano’s run was one of the best they’ve seen. White, however, had his say in the second run.
Coming off of his 6th consecutive X Games win, Shaun White put together an unbeatable second run at the US Open with a top score of 95.58, earning him his fifth US Open men’s half pipe victory – in addition to his two US Open men’s slope style titles. His winning trick combination included a backside air, frontside 1080 double cork stale fish grab, Cab 1080 double cork melon grab, frontside 540 stale fish grab, backside 1260 double McTwist mute grab, to a frontside 1260 double cork stale fish grab. Shaun also claimed the top five highest trick scores of the day. . . “It was incredible to get my fifth US Open half pipe title in Vail, and hands down, this is the best pipe of the year,” said Shaun White. “I’m pretty happy to end my season with a win at the US Open.”
Hirano’s second run included a Method Air, Frontside 1080 Tail Grab, Cab 1080 Nose Grab , Frontside 900 Tail Grab, Backside 540 Mute Grab, Frontside 1080 Double Cork Indy Grab. So the truth is, while the judges may have been a little off (or a lot) on the numbers, they were not off on the placing order.
For the women, Kelly Clark won her sixth US Open title over For the official word from Burton and video of Hirano’s second place run follow the jump.
Hirano’s second run
Shaun White & Kelly Clark Win Halfpipe Championship Titles at the 2013 Burton US Open Presented by MINI
Vail Mountain, CO (March 2, 2013) Shaun White and Kelly Clark won half pipe titles at the 31st annual Burton US Open Snowboarding Championships presented by MINI in sunny Vail Mountain, taking home $45,000 each as well as a legendary US Open half pipe title.
Today’s momentous first US Open at Vail exceeded all expectations, with the best snowboarders in the world treating a record-breaking crowd to some of the most progressive riding in the history of the sport.
Coming off of his 6th consecutive X Games win, Shaun White put together an unbeatable second run at the US Open with a top score of 95.58, earning him his fifth US Open men’s half pipe victory – in addition to his two US Open men’s slope style titles. His winning trick combination included a backside air, frontside 1080 double cork stale fish grab, Cab 1080 double cork melon grab, frontside 540 stale fish grab, backside 1260 double McTwist mute grab, to a frontside 1260 double cork stale fish grab. Shaun also claimed the top five highest trick scores of the day.
“It was incredible to get my fifth US Open half pipe title in Vail, and hands down, this is the best pipe of the year,” said Shaun White. “I’m pretty happy to end my season with a win at the US Open.”
Fourteen-year-old phenom Ayumu Hirano secured second place at the US Open with his game-changing style, earning a score of 87.40. Today, Ayumu also became the World Snowboard Tour Halfpipe Champion for 2013, earning a place in snowboard history as the youngest rider ever to claim this honorable title. Louie Vito rounded out the podium in third with an overall score of 79.58.
The women’s competition was equally as impressive, with Kelly Clark taking an early lead and earning an unprecedented sixth US Open half pipe championship title. Kelly’s huge winning run scored an 84.45 and included a frontside 1080 indy grab, Cab 720 mute grab, lien air, backside 540 mute grab to a frontside 720 stale fish grab. Kelly made snowboarding history in so many ways today: she now has the most half pipe titles in US Open history, she earned her third World Snowboard Tour title, and most impressively, she now can claim 61 half pipe wins – the most for any rider, male or female in snowboarding history.
“Being the winningest US Open champ is such an honor, it’s a big win for me today, especially since I grew up going to this event and it inspired me to be a snowboarder,” said Kelly Clark.
The remaining two female podium spots switched up constantly throughout the half pipe finals. When it was all said and done, Olympic gold medalist Hannah Teter landed in second with a score of 82.13 and Arielle Gold, who had the highest scoring trick of the contest with her frontside 900 mute grab, took third place with a score of 80.88.
Additionally, the $3,000 Nokia Rookie Award for half pipe was presented today to Chloe Kim and Taylor Gold, who both earned the award through a combination of their standings on the World Snowboard Points List, individual competition results and progressive riding.
If you missed any of the action from the 31st annual Burton US Open, check your local listings to watch re-airings from Vail on Universal Sports and NBC Sports Network, plus original coverage, additional airings, run replays, full webcasts, broadcast schedules and more on www.Burton.com/USO. And remember to follow our line at facebook.com/burtonsnowboards, #BurtonUSOpen, twitter.com/burtonsnowboard and @burtonsnowboard on Instagram.
Men’s Halfpipe Final Results: (click link for all details)
1. Shaun White USA, BURTON, 95.58 – $45,000
2. Ayumu Hirano JPN, BURTON, 87.40 – $20,000
3. Louie Vito USA, RED BULL, 79.58 – $10,000
4. Ryo Aono, JPN 77.8
5. Benji Farrow USA 77.15
6. Taylor Gold USA 75.53
7. Peetu Piiroinen FIN 74.65
8. Scotty Lago USA 74.13
9. Christian Haller SUI 73.3
10. Spencer Shaw USA 66.38
11. Taku Hiraoka JPN 58.28
12. Stale Sandbech NOR 57.05
Women’s Halfpipe Final Results:
1. Kelly Clark USA, BURTON, 84.45 – $45,000
2. Hannah Teter USA, BURTON, 82.13 – $20,000
3. Arielle Gold USA, BURTON, 80.88 – $10,000
4. Kaitlyn Farrington USA 73.08
5. Queralt Castellet ESP 71.75
6. Gretchen Bleiler USA 47.45
