British Halfpipe Freestyle Ski Championships Review & Results 2018

OLYMPIANS IMPRESS IN BRITS HALFPIPE

British Snowboard & Freestyle Ski Championships 2018, LAAX, Switzerland

 

Day three of The BRITS 2018 saw freestyle skiing action turn to the halfpipe where warmer-than-usual conditions greeted the field which was graced with a pair of Olympians in the men’s event.

GB Park & Pipe’s Peter Speight and Alexander Glavatsky-Yeadon made their Olympic debuts in PyeongChang less than two months ago and were back in Laax, with the pair vying for the top two places for the second straight year.

Indeed, Speight was looking to make another mark on this year’s BRITS having already shown his versatility with bronze in yesterday’s ski cross.

But it was the Hong Kong product who claimed this year’s top prize, with Glavatsky-Yeadon, 25, reversing last year’s second place finish to claim top spot on the podium.

‘Xander’ impressed the judges with his amplitude and execution, going to the moon and back on a confident run which saw his style and creativity rewarded with the 2018 title.

“All the boys absolutely smashed it,” said Glavatsky-Yeadon. “I was really nervous - I thought that Pete was going to three-peat but I managed to just loop myself up and slip in there.

“Laax always supplies the goods; the best park and pipe in the world so obviously we had that to work with. It was great, the level of riding was superb.”

Speight, the two-time defending champion, was relegated to second this year despite a clinical performance on the Laax halfpipe. The 25-year-old kept is safe with back-to-back 9s, switch left 7s and eye-catching flat spin 5s, but it wasn’t enough for a third-straight victory.

The final place on the podium went to rising star Sam Ward. After making his World Cup debut in Tignes two weeks ago, the 18-year-old showed glimpses of his unbridled potential on a run included an impressive double as he repeated his Big Air result with another third place.

The women’s event nearly mirrored the Picture Ski Big Air from earlier in the week… in fact, the podium ended up just like it was on Tuesday.

In 2017, Kirsty Muir finished second behind Katie Summerhayes in the Picture Big Air and was third in the halfpipe behind Rowan Cheshire and Molly Summerhayes.

With those three Olympians not competing this week, the 13-year-old’s performances are declaring she is next in line as she claimed her second win in three days, today’s title-winning second run all the more impressive given she hasn’t trained or competed in the discipline for quite some time.

"I haven’t been in the pipe this season apart from the last one or two days,” said Muir. “I did both way 5s, an alley-oop 5 and I managed my switch 7 as well. I haven’t done it before – I only did it in the final run.”

Connie Brogden stood on the halfpipe podium at the Nor-Am Cup at Mammoth, USA last month and she continues to show her intentions on taking it to the best in the sport. Connie made then rest of the competition stand up and take notice, combining ambitious flare with impressive amplitude on her first run as she powered to second place.

Taking the final place on the podium for the second time this week was 15-year-old Olivia Burke, who impressed the judges on Tuesday and again today. Burke was sliding it at# a level beyond her years with back to back 540s along the way to another bronze.

The BRITS 2018 conclude tomorrow in Laax when the snowboarders will enter the halfpipe and freestyle skiing competition turns to the slopestyle course.


British Halfpipe Championships – Freestyle Ski Results

Men                                                                Women

1st – Alexander Glavatsky-Yeadon            1st – Kirsty Muir

2nd – Pete Speight                                        2nd – Connie Brogden

3rd – Sam Ward                                            3rd – Olivia Burke


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The BRITS would not be possible without its highly supportive Partners: LAAX, Picture Organic Clothing, SWISS International Airlines, Switzerland Tourism and British Ski & Snowboard (BSS).