It was as everyone expected at Burton’s 36th Annual US Open of Snowboarding in Vail, Colorado March 5-10, 2018. Mark McMorris and Jamie Anderson took the slopestyle event (the women’s final was cancelled due to high winds) and Ayumu Hirtano (pictured above) and Chloe Kim won the halfpipe. Dean Ween and some other bands played and that was that. For the more descriptive official word from Burton (along with more results) please follow the jump.
Chloe Kim & Ayumu Hirano Win 2018 Burton U.S. Open Halfpipe Titles
Vail, CO (March 10, 2018) — Chloe Kim (USA) and Ayumu Hirano (JPN) earned the U.S. Open halfpipe titles at the 36th annual Burton U.S. Open Snowboarding Championships adding their names to the legendary list of winners. It was an incredible day of halfpipe riding as the field of 10 men and six women competed in Vail Mountain’s 22-foot halfpipe in a best of three-run finals format.
Two-time Olympic Halfpipe silver medalist Ayumu Hirano took the win in a heated men’s finals field. This is Ayumu’s first win at the Burton U.S. Open, but not his first time on the podium—he previously placed second in 2013 behind Shaun White and third in 2015. Ayumu blasted through the pipe landing high on the tranny and absolutely charging into each trick—starting off with a huge Indy, into a frontside double cork 1440 Indy, switch frontside double cork 1080 Indy, frontside double cork 1260 Indy, ending with a backside double cork 1260 mute for a score of 89.62.
Ayumu says, “The Burton U.S. Open is one of the first international contests I’ve ever come to, so I have a lot of feelings toward this contest. And coming back from last year’s injury it’s definitely a big win for me here. I’m stoked.”
Raibu Katayama (JPN) landed in second place with an 86.75 and Scotty James (AUS) took third with a 83.62.
In the women’s field, Chloe Kim successfully defended her title for a third year in a row following her incredible gold medal win at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics. Kim kept the crowd on their toes, strategically revising her tricks to nail her final run linking up a huge backside air, into a frontside 1080 tail, switch frontside 720 Indy, frontside 900 tail, ending with a McTwist Indy for a top score of 85.87.
Kim says, “I feel like I was really pushing myself today. I had the best practice, landing solid back-to-back 10s. I was hoping I could put it down here in the contest, but I had to take a step back and play it a little safe.”
Coming off her huge win in PyeongChang and the ensuing media appearances, Kim was excited at the opportunity to defend her Burton U.S. Open title, she said, “I love this contest. There’s just so many smiles on everyone’s faces here. It’s always the most fun contest of the season.”
Maddie Mastro (USA) took second place with a score of 82.99, kicking off her run with a massive frontside 900 Indy, and Haruna Matsumoto (JPN) landed in third with a score of 78.25. Not only did Matsumoto land her first 1080 in competition today, she also takes the honor of becoming the first female Japanese rider to stand on the podium at the Burton U.S. Open.
Clif Bar awarded the Clif ‘Raise the Bar’ Awards rewarding creativity and style by spotlighting the best throwback trick in the halfpipe. Benjamin Ferguson (USA) won the men’s award with his Indy air-to-fakie on the first hit of the pipe. Kelly Clark (USA) won the award for the women with her stylish tuck knee frontside air.
The Burton U.S. Open party culminates tonight starting at 6:00pm MST with the Halfpipe Awards on the Solaris Concert Stage, followed by the free Burton Concert Series featuring Grammy award winning performer Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley. The Late Night Live Music lineup features Brothers Keeper w/ Special Guest Dean Ween at 10:00pm MST at Shakedown Bar.
The night continues with the After Party at Dobson Ice Arena featuring DJ Hedspin, Deejay Theory and DJ Cre8 from 9:30pm – 1:00am MST. This event is free and open to the public. Tickets are available at the Burton Pop-Up store and flagship stores in Vail Village and Lionshead.
Women’s Halfpipe Finals Results
1. Chloe Kim (USA), BURTON, 85.87
2. Maddie Mastro (USA), BILLABONG, 82.99
3. Haruna Matsumoto (JPN), ROXY, 78.75
4. Xuetong Cai (CHN), AUDI, 78.25
5. Kelly Clark (USA), BURTON, 75.25
6. Jiayu Liu (CHN), NIKE, 30.37
Men’s Halfpipe Finals Results
1. Ayumu Hirano (JPN), NIKE, 89.62
2. Raibu Katayama (JPN), BURTON, 86.75
3. Scotty James (AUS), RED BULL, 83.62
4. Ben Ferguson (USA), BURTON, 83.24
5. Pat Burgener (SUI), SAMSUNG, 82.62
6. Jake Pates (USA), ROCKSTAR, 74.62
7. Derek Livingston, (CAN), 686, 67.99
8. Naito Ando, (JPN), KISSMARK, 66.50
9. Chase Josey (USA), ROCKSTAR, 39.00
10. Jan Scherrer (SUI), NITRO, 31.87
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Mark McMorris and Jamie Anderson Win 2018 Burton U.S. Open Slopestyle Titles
Vail, Colo. (March 9, 2018) — Slopestyle finals came down to a nail biter on many fronts today at the 36th annual Burton U.S. Open Snowboarding Championships. Defending champion Mark McMorris (CAN) earned the top score on the final run of the three-run finals, while the women’s field made the difficult decision to cancel the competition due to challenging winds. Results from the women’s semi-finals stood as the final results with Jamie Anderson (USA) earning her seventh Burton U.S. Open title.
The top three qualifiers from Wednesday’s men’s semi-finals stayed at the top in today’s finals, with Mark McMorris confirming his place at the top of the slopestyle field in a gripping final run to earn the top score of 88.10. McMorris soundly put together his winning run, skating through the upper rail section with technical combinations, including a wild switch boardslide cork 630 Indy out, into the trio of jumps, nailing a switch backside 1260 melon, followed by a frontside triple cork 1440 mute into a backside triple cork 1440 Indy in front of the roaring crowd.
McMorris, who spent the last year coming back from a life-threatening injury said, “With everything I’ve been through, today makes it worthwhile 100-percent. This is my life and this is what makes me most happy.”
Colorado local Chris Corning (USA), improved his ranking, bumping up a spot from semi-finals into second. He earned his top score of 87.95 on the final run, linking up back-to-back 1440s and adding in a trick that he had just learned in practice—a frontside 1440 stalemasky into a backside triple cork 1440 melon. Marcus Kleveland (NOR) also put on an incredible performance sending it huge, pairing a switch frontside double cork 1620 mute into a backside 1440 mute for third place with a score of 87.20.
Due to high winds and a vote from competitors, the women’s slopestyle finals were cancelled today. The Burton U.S. Open has always been a rider-driven event, and as such, the safety of the riders is top priority. So, when the riders voted to cancel today’s women’s slopestyle event, the results from Wednesday’s semi-finals stood, making Jamie Anderson (USA) the 2018 champion based on Wednesday’s semi-final results. Defending U.S. Open champ Anna Gasser (AUT) took second and Julia Marino (USA) landed in third.
This is the seventh Burton U.S. Open title for Anderson since earning her first slopestyle title in 2007. The ladies were disappointed that the weather did not cooperate for today’s slopestyle finals, but thankful to have the option to cancel.
“It was cool that the Burton U.S. Open was down to let everyone have a discussion, because sometimes we don’t get to have a voice,” said Anderson. “It was nice to get to congregate today and make a call for what’s best for all of us.”
Anderson is looking forward to unveiling new technical rail tricks that she dialed in at U.S. Open practice in the future. Gasser also shared that she’s been working on incorporating her big air tricks like her Olympic gold medal winning Cab double cork 1080 into her slopestyle run. But these tricks will have to wait for future competitions.
Additionally, Clif Bar awarded the Clif ‘Raise the Bar’ Awards rewarding creativity and style by spotlighting the most innovative slopestyle trick on any feature. Up-and-coming rider Kokomo Murase (JPN) earned the women’s award for her boardslide 270 Indy out on the second rail feature. Nik Baden (USA) earned the men’s award with a stylish frontside 1080 Indy.
Today’s Burton U.S. Open fun continues into the night starting at 6:00 pm MST with the Slopestyle Awards on the Solaris Concert Stage, followed by the free Burton Concert Series featuring BØRNS and Madaila. The Late Night Live Music lineup features The Medallions at 10:00pm at Shakedown Bar.
The Burton U.S. Open competition culminates tomorrow, Saturday, March 10th with the men’s and women’s halfpipe finals on Vail’s Golden Peak with first place qualifiers Maddie Maestro (USA) and two-time Olympic halfpipe silver medalist Ayumu Hirano (JPN). The heated fields include Olympic gold medalist Chloe Kim (USA), 2017 X Games gold medalist Scotty James (AUS), Chase Josey (USA), Ben Ferguson (USA) and Xuetong Cai (CHN) among others competing to earn the coveted Burton U.S. Open halfpipe title.
Women’s Slopestyle Finals Results (Carried over from Wednesday, March 7 Semi-Finals)
1. Jamie Anderson (USA), OAKLEY, 83.75
2. Anna Gasser (AUT), BURTON, 80.95
3. Julia Marino (USA), MOUNTAIN DEW, 75.85
4. Kokomo Murase (JPN), BURTON, 75.30
5. Klaudia Medlova (SVK), GIRO, 75.00
6. Silje Norendal (NOR), ROCKSTAR, 74.75
Men’s Slopestyle Finals Results
1. Mark McMorris (CAN), BURTON, 88.10
2. Chris Corning (USA), ROCKSTAR, 87.95
3. Marcus Kleveland (NOR), RED BULL, 87.20
4. Tyler Nicholson (CAN), ROCKSTAR, 84.60
5. Staale Sandbech (NOR), OAKLEY, 80.40
6. Roope Tonteri (FIN), BURTON, 77.75
7. Yuki Kadono (JPN), RIDE, 77.30
8. Takeru Otsuka (JPN), BURTON, 73.20
9. Nikolas Baden (USA), ADIDAS, 41.55
10. Fridtjof Tischendorf (NOR), LOBSTER, 40.80
