Choi Gaon Makes It Two in a Row as Yamada Ryusei Scores First World Cup Win at Copper

At Copper Mountain, Colorado, the Toyota U.S. Grand Prix Halfpipe World Cup delivered thrilling competition on Friday, 19 December, with Choi Gaon (KOR) continuing her breakout season by claiming her second consecutive World Cup victory and Ryusei Yamada (JPN) earning his first-ever World Cup win in the men’s event.

Despite challenging conditions — including gusty winds and flat light — 17-year-old Choi stood above the rest in the women’s final, becoming the only rider to score above 90 points. Her second-run featured a technically demanding run, highlighted by a switch backside 900 mute and a frontside 900 melon, before she sealed the deal with a clean frontside 720 on her final hit.

“I just (did) not think (about the pressure), I just think (about) my trick,” Choi said from the finish area after the scores came in.

Japan’s Sena Tomita took second, while American Bea Kim rounded out the podium — a breakthrough result in front of a home crowd for the 18-year-old.

Choi’s back-to-back titles in Copper follow her recent win in Secret Garden, underlining her rapid rise on the World Cup circuit and offering an early indicator of the shifting competitive landscape as the sport heads into the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics.

On the men’s side, Japan’s Ryusei Yamada announced himself with an emphatic career-first World Cup victory. The 19-year-old battled from fourth place after his first run to put down a high-octane second effort. His winning score came courtesy of a double McTwist 1080 Japan, a switch McTwist Japan, a frontside double 1440 mute and a massive switch backside alley-oop double rodeo 900 stalefish.

Yamada’s performance helped lead a Japanese 1-2 finish, with teammate Yuto Totsuka just behind in second place.

With both events played out in demanding winter light and tricky pipe conditions, the results in Copper offered a compelling preview of Olympic-cycle form — particularly among Asia’s rising generation of halfpipe talent.