(Photo above: A diverse podium filled the women’s ski pipe podium. Cassie Sharpe, Marie Martinod, and Maddie Bowman finished strong. Photo: Walter)
Canada’s Cassie Sharpe took first in women’s superpipe today, putting together a smooth, technical run and getting more consistent amplitude than the other athletes. Her run—which scored 93.66—was technical, and showed her prowess spinning both directions and with a multitude of grabs. She started off with a right 900—a new trick for Sharpe—followed by a left flare tindy, a right 360 safety, a switch left 360 mute, a straight air trucker, a left 900, and a right flare tail. Sharpe skied the same run in qualifiers and each round of finals, working on refining the technical details.
“My right 9, that’s my newest trick, the one I’m most nervous for. As soon as I land that one, I feel like…ok I can breathe, I can land all this stuff, it’s fine,” says Sharpe.
“We just watched the boys and they were boosting and it fired me up to want to follow what they’re doing and go big. I didn’t really change anything from my run the other day, other than just cleaning it up and taking it bigger.”
Sharpe has been incredibly consistent throughout the competition, taking first in qualifiers and putting down an 88-point run before her winning run.
France’s Marie Martinod took second with an impressive, clean run featuring flares in both directions, a left 900 tail, and a right 540. The 33-year-old mother, who has been competing for over a decade and greatly progressed the sport, scored 92 points. Her confidence and experience come through in her smooth style and consistent skiing.
In third, Maddie Bowman put down a 90-point run that was incredibly technical. Where she struggles is in the small details, especially grabs and amplitude. Three of her hits had no grab or a missed grab, and she went considerably smaller than Sharpe, for instance. Still, her run featured a wide variety of hits and spin direction, including a right and left 900 and an alley-oop with a Japan grab.
Conditions were favorable this morning, with no wind, blue skies, and cool weather. The pipe—which multiple athletes noted was cut well—was in great shape.
Sound off in the comments below!