Ready for the future of Women’s Snowboard Superpipe? The average age of the podium finishers on Saturday was just under 14 years young, proving that the pipeline of new talent on the rise is stronger than ever.
South Korean rider Gaon Choi, 14, posted three scores in the 90s and won with a score of 98.33 in Run 3 – one of the highest scores ever awarded at Dew Tour – after stomping a switch backside 900 Indy, Cab 720 melon, frontside 1080 melon, and Cab 900.
“I couldn’t believe it when I saw the score,” Choi said, with help from a translator after the awards ceremony. “I just wanted to show the people in the crowd what I can do. I didn’t think I would be able to do that run but just went for it.”
It’s the second pro-level competition win for Choi, who also won at X Games in January after dominating on the Nor-Am Cup and other junior-level FIS competitions in 2022 and winning the 2022 FIS Junior World Championships in Switzerland. She’s from Seoul, Republic of Korea, but trains at Mammoth Mountain and has been mentored by two-time Olympic gold medalist and multi-time Dew Tour champ Chloe Kim.
“I’m so excited and so happy, and I feel like this is just the start,” Choi said. “I’m inspired to start working even harder for the next contest.”
Copper Mountain local and crowd favorite Patti Zhou, 11, finished 2nd with an incredible Run 2 pass for a score of 90.66, making her the youngest athlete to land on a winter Dew Tour podium. She’s now the second youngest to make a Dew Tour podium: skateboarder Cocona Hiraki was 10 when she finished 3rd in Women’s Skateboard Park at Dew Tour Long Beach 2019.
Zhou’s run featured a switch backside 900 melon, Cab 720 Weddle, frontside 540 melon, and backside 540 Weddle that left fans, judges, and commentators stunned.
“I feel so excited and so thankful to be here,” Zhou said. “I feel like Copper Mountain is my family: they’ve been supporting me ever since I first came here. This pipe is amazing, and the whole entire Dew Tour crew is amazing. I’m speechless.”
Zhou had even more planned for her next two passes but had falls in both Runs 3 and 4, keeping her from challenging Choi.
“I was thinking about another run with a switch backside 720 at the bottom, but I couldn’t do my best run,” she said. “It’s alright: I’m happy, I’m happy for everyone, I’m happy for myself, and I’m happy for everyone who stoked me up. I feel like this is all so new: I’m so small and immature still and know I have a lot to learn, and I feel like I can keep getting better. I’m so excited to come back next year!”
3rd place went to Bea Kim, 16, a member of the U.S. Snowboarding Rookie Team who bumped into a podium position in Run 4, opening with one of the biggest method airs of the contest, followed by a frontside 720 melon, Cab 540, switch backside 540, and Cab 720 stalefish.
It was just the second pro-level competition for Kim, a member of the Mammoth Mountain team who finished 6th in her FIS World Cup debut, also at Copper Mountain, in December 2022. Kim finished 2nd behind Choi at the 2022 FIS Junior World Championships in Switzerland and at each of the 2022 Nor-Am Cup Revolution Tour events.
“It’s surreal: Dew Tour has been an event that I’ve watched and looked up to and admired all the riders competing since I was super small,” Kim said. “I was freaking out just to get the invite and just came here with the intention of having fun, hanging out with my friends, landing a run, and seeing where that placed me. I’m very happy with my result and all the girls were killing it. The progression was insane at this event and it was really showing from all the girls, with a lot of switch backside tricks and really strong amplitude. Everyone was just off the charts, and it was something we really haven’t seen that much before. The progression was just mindblowing, even being an athlete involved in it. I’m so proud to be a part of it.”
Women’s Snowboard Superpipe Results
1.) Gaon Choi, 98.33
2.) Patti Zhou, 91.67
3.) Bea Kim, 80.00
4.) Sonny Alba, 77.00
5.) Summer Fenton, 76.00
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